Allies and Enemies
by Stargaterdii
Summary: When Yuzu and Karin receive strange, owl-delivered letters, old alliances are rekindled and new enemies are made, and a certain icy Captain is conned into looking after them. Set in the fifth year. Chapter 15 up.
1. Prologue: The Letter

**A/N** Okay, so this started off as a way to keep me sane during finals week. I don't know if anything will come of it. It basically came about during my 8:30 Introduction to Psychological Testing class, where I thought, _Wouldn't it be awesome if Urahara and Dumbledore could meet?_ Yeah, you don't want to know where my mind goes when I'm bored and in class. Don't expect too much, cuz finals week. My brain doesn't work too well right now.

* * *

It had been a long day at the Kurosaki clinic, and young Kurosaki Yuzu was very happy to close for the night. _Karin-chan will be coming home from soccer practice soon,_ Yuzu thought as she started to lock the front doors. _I wonder what she'll want for dinner, or if Ichi-nii will..._ "Oh!" Yuzu said out loud, startled out of her thoughts. Sitting just outside of the doors was a large brown owl. It hooted at her in a dignified sort of fashion.

Yuzu opened the doors very slowly. An owl should be frightened away by her approach, but she also didn't want it to fly _at_ her. A part of Yuzu wondered why she didn't just let it alone and go inside to start dinner, but there was something odd the way it was sitting there, on the ground, like it was waiting for her. And Yuzu had to admit, it would be nice for once to be the special one. Karin and Ichigo could both see spirits, while Yuzu could only sense their presence. Ichigo often ran off to do things he wouldn't tell them about, but they all knew were important, and even Karin had been able to help Kanonji-san defeat those monsters. But here there was something strange- something _special_- and it was happening to Yuzu alone.

The owl cocked its head at her and hooted again, as though it was trying to figure out what she was thinking, but it didnt move, even as she cautiously approached it. "Hello there," Yuzu said gently, kneeling down to get a better look at the bird. "Are you hurt? You came to the right place, if you are, although we dont normally treat birds. You're quite a handsome fellow, arent you?"

The bird preened at this, as though it understood what Yuzu was saying, and stuck out one of its legs. Yuzu frowned- there appeared to be a piece of paper tied to it. Still moving cautiously, Yuzu untied the paper, which actually turned out to be a letter in a brown paper envelope. She turned it over to see if was addressed to anyone, and her mouth went dry. It read:

__

Kurosaki Yuzu

Kurosaki Clinic

Karakura Town, Japan

"Who would send me a letter using an _owl_?" she asked incredulously. Said owl nipped her gently on the finger, drawing her attention. It was holding out its other leg which had a similar letter tied to it. Fingers shaking slightly, Yuzu untied the string for the second letter. This one was addressed to Karin.

Satisfied that it had delivered its burdens, the owl gave one last hoot and flew off. With her fingers trembling a little more violently now, Yuzu ripped open her letter. "T-Tou-san!" she called out after reading the first page. Well, she had been right in thinking that this encounter with the owl was going to be strange.

* * *

**A/N** Short, I know. Let me know what you think. I'm working on Chapter 1 as I type this (well, I'm taking a break to type this, but you get the idea). Flames will be used to roast marshmallows


	2. Chapter 1: Old Friends

**A/N** Wow. Just wow. 12 reviews on what happens to be a very short prologue. You guys are seriously the best.

I know when I posted the prologue I said I was currently working on chapter one, and that wasn't a lie. But a lot of stuff came up. I'm a senior in university and I've been checking out grad schools, preparing for my GREs and a lot of crap has been going on in my personal life, too. But I didn't want to disappoint you all, so here's chapter 1- still kind of short, but it's here. Review responses at the end.

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter. I make no money from writing this fanfiction.

* * *

"It's been a while, Kisuke," a man with long silver hair said over his tea-cup.

"Has it?" Urahara asked thoughtfully, sipping his own tea. "How long has it been?"

"Nearly thirty years."

"Hn," was Urahara's only reply.

The silver-haired man sighed, and adjusted his half-moon spectacles. "While I appreciate you coming by to visit me, Kisuke, we both know that it isn't the reason you're here. It must have taken quite some effort for you to come all the way here using- ah, what did you call it again?"

"Shunpo. Flash step."

"And if you had sent word beforehand, I could have met you at a more convenient place."

Urahara pushed his hat back out of his eyes. "Tch, I could never get the hang of your owl-post, Albus. Besides, there's no risk of leaving parts behind with shunpo, not like your Apparating."

Dumbledore smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. "And while I would love to start this argument again, Kisuke, I'd much rather hear your reason for coming all this way."

Urahara rubbed his stubbled chin. "The Kurosakis- the youngest two- they've received letters from your school."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes."

There was a moment of silence as the two men stared each other down with determination, a touch of exasperation, and an undertone of amusement. After all, they had performed this dance many, many times.

Uncharacteristically, though, Urahara was the one that gave in. "Albus, those children are of Shinigami blood, not wizard. What powers they have are from their reiatsu."

"And do you think that Shinigami and wizard powers are so different, Kisuke?" Dumbledore asked, leaning forward. He held up a hand. "I know- 'this is no time for your philosophies, Albus,'- but it does have a place in this conversation. We picked up on these children just as we would have any Muggle-born. Their power was different, but not so much that it cannot be trained in a wizardly fashion."

A smile quirked at the corner of Urahara's mouth. "And they were invited to your school because you recognized those differences as reiatsu, ne?"

"The possibility had crossed my mind." Dumbledore sighed and put down his teacup. "Look, Kisuke, Muggles have children with wizardly powers, normal people have children with strong reiatsu, is it so strange to think someone with strong reiatsu could have children with wizardly powers? Or vice versa?"

"Certainly explains you," Urahara muttered.

"And not training those powers can do more harm than good. If not at Hogwarts, Kisuke, then somewhere else."

"But Hogwarts has the only headmaster familiar with Shinigami arts, as you well know, you old bastard." Urahara said this with his characteristic toothy grin. He sighed and stretched, putting his hands behind his head and pushing his green-striped hat further over his eyes. "Yare, yare. You sure don't make these things easy, do you, Albus-kun."

"How so?" Dumbledore asked, feeling a touch of unease. He didn't much like the twinkle in Urahara's eyes.

"Kurosaki-kun's _very _protective of his little sisters. He's going to want to check out the school."

"Fair enough," Dumbledore said, although he knew more would be coming.

"He might even ask Hitsugaya-taicho to go under cover there. After all, Toshirou is very fond of Karin-chan. And I can't guarantee our Shiro-chan fitting in well. I do not envy his teachers, not at all." Despite his words, Urahara said this brightly.

"Kisuke…"

"And Rangiku-san will have to stop by to give her taicho updates, and she never manages to do so inconspicuously."

"How do you expect a full grown, err, taicho to go undercover in the school, Kisuke? They may be children, but my students aren't dumb." Despite himself, Dumbledore was intrigued. Would Urahara make this Captain an immature body? Was there some spell- _kidou_ to make him look younger? Whatever it was, it was bound to be a fascinating and powerful piece of magic.

Urahara slowly sipped his tea, a mischievous look on his face that reminded Dumbledore strongly of the Weasley twins. "Whoever said Hitsugaya-taicho was full grown, Albus-kun?"

* * *

**Review Responses:**

**Yemi Hikari:** I considered having Ururu and Jinta in the story as well, but I really don't feel like I know them well enough to write the characters. But it's a good idea and you should definitely use it for your own fic.

**DayDreamer**: I appreciate your advice. And as you can see from this chapter, I do change POV. In fact, I don't like writing first-person because it's difficult to change POV around. I like to be inside different heads at different times.

**Xandre:** Well, it's not soon, but it's updated. *sheepish look* And saying it might become "another lost gem" makes me feel all warm and gooey inside. It's nice to know someone thinks so well of my work!

**taoT:** I'm glad someone appreciates the time and effort I put into my grammar and sentence construction. Thank you for acknowledging it!

**Shinigami2c:** I assume you mean the missing quotes when you say "grammatical mistakes"? I don't know why that happened when I uploaded the chapter. I certainly remember typing them. I'll fix them immediately, and I appreciate you pointing out my errors! And I think you should definitely start that fic. It'd be interesting to see how another author writes a similar premise!

**I-Like-WAFFLES:** First of all, _best pen-name ever!_ The reason I started this fic was because I thought Dumbledore and Urahara would work great together. Yes, mostly because of their predilection for explosions.

**girlX901, totalnarutofangirl85, staidwaters, Okami Princess, mio-tan:** Thank you for your kind reviews! I really appreciate you taking the time to write a review. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I'm a complete review-whore, and I'll love every single one of my reviewers for forever and a day!

Thanks for reading!~ Dii


	3. Chapter 2: The Arrival

**A/N** First of all, do not get used to consecutive updates like this. It probably will never happen again.

I had planned this chapter to be much longer, but then I realized I didn't know what year Harry & Co. are in. I've narrowed it down to three: 1st year- Harry & Co. actually have classes with Karin, Yuzu, and Hitsu; 4th year- just because it could be interesting; and 5th year- because Hitsu vs. Umbridge would be awesome. I've posted a poll on my profile, so please, help a girl out and take it. Thanks. Also, let me know (in review form) what houses you think our three should be in. I kind of want to put them all in Gryffindor, but I don't know if I can get away with that. Thanks!

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter. I make no money from the writing of this fanfiction.

* * *

The Kurosaki party arrived at Hogwarts a few days early. Dumbledore had thought it best, since the girls were foreign it would take them longer to get used to the grounds and the way life at Hogwarts was run. That, and they were arriving with a rather large retinue.

There were his actual students, Karin and Yuzu; their older brother, Ichigo; the "undercover student," Hitsugya Toshirou; _his _escort, Matsumoto Rangiku; and of course, wild horses couldn't keep Kisuke away.

Dumbledore waited with Professor McGonagall outside Hogwarts gates. McGonagall, for her part, looked rather put out. "_Why _are you making concessions for these students, Albus?"

"It's hard enough for a Muggle-born child to adjust to the magical world, Minerva," Dumbledore replied calmly, "but these girls are also foreign. Not to mention that they have experiences with magic quite unlike our own."

McGonagall looked at him as though she were waiting for him to continue, but the headmaster didn't seem to take notice. Instead, it looked like he was absorbed in studying a bunch of flowers growing near the spot they were standing in. McGonagall sighed. "You forgot to mention the part about doing a favor for an old friend."

"Is that what I'm doing?" Dumbledore mused as if he hadn't considered that. "This is on his recommendation."

McGonagall sighed. She, of course, never bought the headmaster's empty-headed act, but it was still rather trying.

Moments later, the group pulled up in- of all things- a Muggle car. A mini-van. Urahara bounced out of the driver's seat, while the others poured out the back, looking slightly green.

"I never knew driving could be so fun! Ne, Ichigo-kun?" the blonde man said cheerfully.

A tall, orange-haired teen extricated himself from the tangle of limbs and frowned. "You _said_ you knew how to drive, Urahara-san."

"Theoretically," Urahara amended, not looking in the least ashamed. The entire party looked about ready to attack Urahara, so Dumbledore took a step forward and cleared his throat.

"Let me be the first to welcome you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he said kindly. The party turned their attention from Urahara to Dumbledore. He noted one of the girls clung shyly to the orange-haired teen. He winked at her. "The term doesn't start for a few days, so please feel free to use this time to acquaint yourselves with the grounds and your professors. If you'll follow us, we'll gladly give you a tour."

"Toshirou!" Karin hurried to catch up with the white-haired boy. "Isn't it weird, this school? And that we're all going here? Yuzu said the letters came by owl? Did your's?"

"Not precisely," Hitsugaya muttered. He was still trying to understand how Kurosaki and Urahara had convinced him to do this. It was possible that candy had exchanged hands, but Hitsugaya would never admit to that. Not even to himself.

"Ne, Kurosaki-kun, aren't they cute?" Matsumoto whispered in Ichigo's ear. He had to lean to the side to avoid being smothered by her, err, _assets_. "I think taicho has a crush on your little sister."

Matsumoto had tried to be subtle, but of course Hitsugaya had heard it. His eyebrow twitched. Ichigo shivered, feeling the icy reiatsu of the small captain begin to flare. "Rangiku-san, I don't think Toshirou would appreciate-"

"They'd make a nice couple, don't you think, Kurosaki-kun?" Matsumoto continued as if Ichigo hadn't spoken. "And maybe taicho would loosen up some if he had a girlfriend."

Ichigo couldn't help but be amazed at the vice-captain's obliviousness. Even he could feel Hitsugaya's murderous rage building behind them.

Matsumoto clapped her hands together excitedly. "And think of the _babies_, Kurosaki-kun-"

A muscle jumped in Ichigo's jaw as he could suddenly appreciate what Hitsugaya went through everyday. He did not want to think about his little sister and babies. Not for a very, very long time. And if he was lucky, not ever. Only Yuzu's grip on his arm kept Ichigo from throttling the vice-captain then and there.

"Mat-su-mo-to…" Hitsugaya ground out slowly, dangerously, through his teeth.

Matsumoto had the grace to look embarrassed. "Ah, gomen, taicho," she said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "I didn't think you could hear."

Karin looked at the two curiously. "Ne, Toshirou, isn't she your mother?"

Matsumoto fell flat on her face, and the party continued walking past her. Ichigo tuned out whatever explanation Hitsugaya was giving Karin, and looked over at Yuzu as she tightened her grip on his arm. "What's wrong, Yuzu?"

"I'm scared, Ichi-nii," she said, her face half buried in the crook of his elbow.

"Of what? Toshirou and Rangiku-san? She always makes him mad like that. He hasn't killed her, yet," he said lightly, attempting humor.

Yuzu shook her head. "Of this place. I'm not strong like you, or brave like Karin-chan." Her fingers curled in the fabric of his sleeve.

Ichigo patted her head with the hand she didn't currently have a death grip on. "But you're smart, Yuzu. Smarter than both of us. And isn't that what matters in school?" He tweaked her nose. "Besides, you'll have Toshirou and Karin to look out for you, right? And I'll stay until you get settled."

Yuzu sighed. "I wish you could stay forever, Ichi-nii."

"I have my own school to go to. But I'll come whenever you need me."

"Really?"

Ichigo smiled, a gesture made all the nicer for its rarity. "Yeah. Just send me a letter, and I'll come. Promise."

Yuzu let go of his arm and threw her own arms around his waist. _Really,_ she thought. _I have the best big brother._

"Ne, Yuzu," Ichigo asked suddenly, "you brought Kon-err Bostov, right?"

"Yeah…" Yuzu said slowly. "Why?"

"No real reason." Ichigo stretched nonchalantly and put his hands behind his head. "You just really like him, right? I figured it would be nice for you to have him with you." _And while Kon can't do much like that, he can always get Toshirou if there's trouble_, Ichigo thought to himself.

Yuzu smiled. "You're so kind, Ichi-nii. But Bostov's a girl."

Ichigo couldn't swear that he hadn't imagined it, but he thought he heard muffled screaming from the direction of their bags.

* * *

**Review responses:**

**kuaispeed: **Your excitement about this story makes me excited to write more. Thanks for that. ^_^

**totalnarutofangirl85:** That line just seemed a natural way to end the scene, but I'm glad you liked it. And I'm not really a HitsuxKarin fan per se, but I do think they're a better pairing than, say Hinamori and Hitsugaya (I'm not a Hinamori fan). I actually just adore Hitsugaya and was determined to have him in the story.

**Xandre:** I hope this update was qick enough for you, lol. Sorry we're not at the juicy stuff, yet. But I promise things are not gonna go smoothly. ^_^

**Chillis:** Well, as long as you consider it a compliment, then I do, too. As for pairings, as of this moment I don't intend for any real romance. There might be slight HitsuxKarin, but nothing really blatant. That, of course, may be subject to change. Nothing's officially planned out yet. Who knows? I tend to let the story dictate things like that.

Once again, I love you all very, very much, and I send you all cyber-kisses.


	4. Chapter 3: Decisions

**A/N** I've been sick recently, so I don't feel that this chapter is up to my usual standards. The character interaction just wasn't working too well in my fuzzed-out head. But your reviews made me feel a little better, so thank you for that.

Btw, I've figured out where in the Bleach timeline this is taking place: between the Soul Society Arc and the Hueco Mundo Arc. Kind of during the Bount storyline, but the Bount don't have any part in this story. But I'm still not sure what year we're in in the Harry Potter universe, so please take the poll on my profile page. Thanks!

I've also pretty much figured out what Houses I want the three to be in, so thank you for all your suggestions, especially a rather intriguing one sent in by missyJuliette (I'm definitely considering it! Thank you!)

This story is made all the better for all of your input, thank you!

I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter. I make no money from writing this fanfiction.

* * *

Hitsugaya had somehow managed to extricate himself from the group. He'd never really been a social person, and he felt he had to cool his temper before continuing to pretend to be an 11 year old.

He shifted uncomfortably. He never really felt comfortable in a gigai, and he missed the familiar weight of Hyorinmaru on his back. He knew, intellectually, that Hyorinmaru was no further from him than in Soul Society, that all it would take was a piece of Soul Candy and he'd be able to draw the zanpakuto, but it was hard to convince his body that it wasn't armed. Therefore he felt tense- more so than usual. At least the school robes reminded him of his Shinigami robes. He felt more comfortable in them than any of the other real world clothes Matsumoto had bought for him.

He had to admit, though, the school was impressive. The large stone castle was like nothing Hitsugaya had ever seen before, and the grounds were peaceful and beautiful. Still, he felt a sort of unease being here that was entirely unconnected to his (supposed) weaponless state. There was a sense of foreboding that belied the current serenity of the grounds.

Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed. Kurosaki had been right to worry about his sisters' safety while attending this school. Something was going to happen here. And if Urahara was right about the overlap between wizardry and reiatsu, that something might very well effect Soul Society.

"You may not want to travel too far from the group," a silky voice said behind him. Hitsugaya didn't jump; he wasn't surprised. He had known that this man had been approaching him and had in fact stopped to wait for him. He suspected, though, that the man had wished to surprised him. Well, Hitsugaya was sorry to disappoint him.

"Oh?" Hitsugaya asked delicately, turning to face the tall, black-haired man.

"There are certain- dangers on the grounds that a new student would not know how to avoid," the man said coolly, openly studying Hitsugaya.

Hitsugaya did _not_ snort in disbelief, although he really, really wanted to. He doubted that there could be anything dangerous enough on these school grounds that he, one of the captains of the Gotei 13, couldn't handle. But there was no way this man could know about Hitsugaya's standing in Soul Society. "Really," was all he said.

The man's eyes narrowed in an unconscious imitation of Hitsugaya's expression from only moments ago. "You should head back to the group."

Hitsugaya could feel himself bristling at the implied order. It was clear that this man was used to being obeyed. Well, so was Hitsugaya. "Excuse me, are you a teacher here?"

The man blinked in almost-surprise. "Yes. I am Professor Severus Snape."

Hitsugaya nodded to himself. He'd had teachers like this one before. Teachers who assumed that they could bully him because of his age and supposed inexperience. "And what do you teach, Snape-sensei?"

"I am the Potions Master."

"_Tai-choooooo!_" Matsumoto bounded towards them before Hitsugaya could say anything else, waving one arm. "Did you get lost?"

Hitsugaya rubbed his furiously twitching eyebrow. So much for allowing his temper to cool.

Dumbledore showed them their temporary sleeping quarters, explaining that once they were Sorted into Houses, they'd move into their permanent dormitories. He left in order to let them get settled, gesturing discretely to Hitsugaya to follow him out. Matsumoto, of course, followed her Captain.

Dumbledore chatted pleasantly as they walked down the hallways, politely answering Matsumoto's numerous questions about their surroundings, the living paintings, and especially the ghosts.

The ghosts unsettled the two Shinigami. The first time they saw one float through the walls, waving at them cheerfully, they both automatically reached for their zanpakuto which were not there, suddenly realizing that they'd left the soul candy back in their bags. "It's all right," Dumbledore told them. "These ghosts have been at Hogwarts for a very long time."

It was then that Hitsugaya noticed that this ghost had neither a chain nor a hole in his chest. He wondered if the Soul Burial would even work.

After a short while they arrived at Dumbledore's office. "Let me get to the point," Dumbledore said after gesturing they sit down in front of his enormous, claw-footed desk. "I understand that you are here by Ichigo's request, Toshirou, to look after his sisters."

Oddly, Hitsugaya didn't mind the wizard's use of his given name. He somehow understood that Dumbledore didn't mean any disrespect by using it. "Yes."

Dumbledore smiled. "That was very kind of you, but I'll be frank. I do not accept students to this school who cannot learn here. Not even at the request of an old friend."

"You want us to leave."

Dumbledore shook his head. "Not at all. I want you to become a real student here, Toshirou. You have the capacity for it, otherwise I would not have agreed to this in the first place." Dumbledore steepled his fingers together. "I won't pretend to truly understand what it is you do, Toshirou, even though Kisuke has tried to explain it to me. But from what I do understand, learning the mastery of another kind of power can't really hurt, can it?

"Students attend school at Hogwarts for seven years. I understand that you have other responsibilities, and that is a long time to be away, but please consider it. I'll give you until the Sorting Ceremony to decide."

"What happens if I say no?"

Dumbledore looked at him sadly. "I cannot let you stay. I'm sorry, Toshirou."

Hitsugaya recognized the dismissal and left, Matsumoto scurrying after him. "Taicho-"

"Matsumoto, I can't leave Soul Society for seven years."

Matsumoto looked at him in surprise. "Taicho, do you really think it will take you seven years?"

"What do you mean?"

Matsumoto smiled brightly at him. "Taicho, you entered the academy young, you graduated young and you became the youngest captain in Soul Society history. They don't call you a prodigy for nothing." She tapped her lips thoughtfully. "I give it four years. Three, if taicho works really hard."

Hitsugaya almost blushed at his vice-captain's praise. Almost. "That's still a long time to be away."

Matsumoto's eyes filled with tears. "Taicho, don't you trust me to look after the squad?"

"Being in charge means doing paperwork, Matsumoto. On time."

Matsumoto suddenly turned serious. "Taicho, can't you see how a new kind of power could help us? One he doesn't know about and can't use?"

Hitsugaya contemplated that for a moment. Yes, he could certainly see the benefit in that. "But we definitely don't have three years."

"That's why you have to learn as much as you can in the time we have. And why you're the best one for the job." Matsumoto smiled once again. "Nobody learns quicker than you do taicho."

This time Hitsugaya couldn't suppress his blush. His vice-captain of course noticed this, and Hitsugaya had to dodge her hug so that he wouldn't be suffocated.

* * *

**Review Responses:**

**girlx901:** That's definitely something to consider, although it might take a more dedicated writer than me. ^_^;;; But who knows? There's always the possibility of sequels.

**Chillis:** Well, I'm definitely considering it, but it's just so hard to decide! That's why I started the poll. I'll just go with the majority vote.

**missyJuliette:** Your review made me smile and want to update as soon as possible! It makes me happy that you enjoyed my fic that much. And depending on the year I put Yuzu, Karin, and Hitsu into, there may be some minor ocs. I also want to thank you for your very intriguing suggestion. If I think I'm up to it, I'm definitely going to try it out.

**kuaispeed:** Now you see my dilemma. All three years have great potential. And don't worry, I'm easily amused as well! I just hope you didn't hurt yourself. ^_^

**Xandre:** I really just thought that that was what Karin would think! But I'm glad you liked it.

**Son of Kalas:** Thanks for your review. I'm glad you liked it, and thank you for your suggestion!

**totalnarutofangirl85:** I actually did consider that, but Ichigo does have the substitute Shinigami badge, and it always seemed to me that he preferred to use that over Kon anyway. Besides, Kon is one more person who can look after his sisters, and I think Ichigo would consider that the bigger issue.

**RedSnowFalls:** Aww, that makes me really happy. I'm glad you liked the last chapter! And I really appreciate you pointing out any errors. That's how we get better.

Much love to you all. ~Dii


	5. Chapter 4: The Sorting

**A/N** I'm finally over my cold, yay! And to celebrate, I wrote this entire chapter in one day, _and_ it's longer than any of the previous chapters. Who's proud? Actually, I've got exams up the wazoo, not to mention a paper due soon, so I should have been studying, but who wants to do that. Anyway, this is an important chapter. Not only do we find out _what_ year it's set in (thanks to all that took the poll), but we find out what Houses Hitsu, Karin and Yuzu are Sorted into. Gasp, the drama! And thank you for all your suggestions and help! I couldn't have done it without you all, my wonderful reviewers.

I do not own Harry Potter or Bleach. I do not make any money from the writing of this fanfiction.

* * *

It had been a difficult summer for Harry, made no easier by the recent disciplinary hearing and the sudden visibility of the strange carriage horses that no one else could see but for "Loony" Luna Lovegood, not to mention both Ron and Hermione being prefects and Hagrid not being present to escort the first years, well, it was with some relief that he headed into the familiarity of the Great Hall.

He surveyed the frightened first-years curiously, wondering as always which Houses they'd be Sorted into. One in particular caught his eye. The boy had unusual white hair and large, teal eyes. While he was no taller or larger than any of the other first years, he seemed much older to Harry, and his slender body seemed to exude an aura of carefully controlled strength. The boy was speaking softly to two girls, the lighter-haired one clinging desperately to the darker-haired one. He, unlike the vast majority of the other first years, didn't seem at all frightened. Harry wondered vaguely why he hadn't seen this boy on the train.

* * * * *

Hitsugaya didn't know what the Sorting entailed any more than the rest of the first years, but he seriously doubted that some of the wild stories he heard tossed around could possibly be true, and he did his best to assure the Kurosaki twins of this.

Karin was putting on a brave face for her sister, but Hitsugaya could tell she was just as frightened as those around them, but he didn't comment on it, directing his reassuring remarks towards Yuzu. Not that his reassuring remarks were all that reassuring. Nobody had ever accused Hitsugaya of being a people person and he tended to be rather awkward in social situations. Give him a hollow to fight any day.

The sorting hat was brought into the Great Hall. And started singing. Fascinated, Hitsugaya listened closely to the song as it described the Founders of the school and the four houses. The Houses weren't all that different from the Gotei 13, Hitsugaya discovered. Each squad valued different abilities and skills, but that had bred rivalry, much like the song described within the Hogwarts Houses.

Hitsugaya frowned as the song continued. The hat was now preaching friendship and solidarity. The school and the students must unite, it said, because outside forces endangered the school. _What outside forces? _Hitsugaya wondered to himself. Could the hat possibly mean Aizen?

But before Hitsugaya could ponder it further, the Sorting began. He watched the others go up with interest. The hat took varying amounts of time to Sort each student, like it was more difficult to decide with some, rather than others. Hitsugaya wondered what criteria it weighed when making its decision. It was true that each House valued different traits, but there was definitely some overlap. For instance, Slytherins were valued for their cunning and sharp minds, while Ravenclaws had a love of knowledge and learning. A Ravenclaw could easily be cunning and a Slytherin could love learning. And the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs both valued loyalty.

So it was with fascination rather than fear that Hitsugaya sat on the small wooden stool.

"Well, well." A little voice said in his ear. "It's been some time since I graced such a distinguished head, Hitsugaya-taicho." The voice was pleasantly neutral. "And such a mind as well! You would do fine in any of our Houses, Captain. Loyalty, bravery, cunning and knowledge, they're all in here."

Hitsugaya felt slightly impatient. He knew all of this.

"But your talents may be put to the most use in Slytherin. Cunning, ambition, resourcefulness, leadership, yes you fit the profile."

_But I'm not a pure blood_, Hitsugaya thought, remembering the hat's song.

"You're not really any blood, taicho. You're Shinigami, not Muggle, not wizard. Dumbledore may know what that means, but the students in Slytherin House won't understand. And your squad won't care what House you're Sorted into, will they?"

Hitsugaya smiled to himself. Even if they had cared, his subordinates would dare never say so.

"So it's settled. SLYTHERIN!"

* * * * *

Harry had watched with interest when the white-haired boy- Hitsugaya Toshirou, according to Professor McGonagall- went up to be Sorted. He'd worn the sorting hat for a long time- longer than any of the first years had worn it before him. Harry wondered what the hat was saying to him. Maybe Toshiro was like Harry himself had been, desperately asking not to be put into a certain House. Harry amused himself for a moment with the idea that Toshirou was having the exact same conversation with the hat that he'd had. It would be interesting to have the strange youth in his House.

But soon enough, the rip at the hat's brim opened and the hat yelled, "SLYTHERIN!"

_Oh well_, Harry thought, turning his attention to the next student to be Sorted. Looks like he wouldn't be getting to know the strange youth.

* * * * *

Hitsugaya sat down at the Slytherin table, barely acknowledging the students already there. They weren't exactly the most pleasant looking lot, but he wasn't there to make friends. He had two objectives- learn as much as he could in the time they had before the Hougyoku became viable, and protect Kurosaki's sisters. So long as the other Slytherins did not get in the way of those two objectives, they'd get along splendidly.

A blond boy with a pale, pointed face, watched interestedly as Hitsugaya came to sit among them. Clearly he saw something in the Shinigami captain that he hadn't seen in the previous first years. "Draco Malfoy," the boy introduced himself. "I'm a prefect, so if you have any trouble, come to me."

"I won't," Hitsugaya said clearly, "be having any trouble." And ignoring the shock of the students around him, Hitsugaya turned back to watch the Sorting.

Karin and Yuzu were up not long after Hitsugaya. Karin was Sorted into Gryffindor and Yuzu into Hufflepuff. It was pretty much as Hitsugaya had expected, but it still made his job more difficult. If the girls had been in the same House, they'd be easier to keep track of. Still, he was a captain of the Gotei 13. He could handle it.

Yuzu waved at him pleasantly as she passed him, seemingly relieved that her Sorting ordeal was over. "See you later, Toshirou-kun!" Hitsugaya waved back tentatively.

"You'll want to stop hanging out with Hufflepuffs," that boy from before was saying. "Slytherins aren't seen with their ilk."

Hitsugaya would have just brushed him off again, but his curiosity got the better of him. "Why ever not?"

"Because they're a load of buffoons." The two large boys on either side of Malfoy guffawed loudly. Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes. He could tell where the buffoons were, and they weren't in Hufflepuff.

"Kurosaki Yuzu is not a buffoon."

Malfoy looked at Hitsugaya in surprise. He had no answer to that. "Still, no self-respecting Slytherin is seen with a Hufflepuff," he said finally. "Or a Gryffindor, for that matter."

"And what is wrong with the Gryffindors?"

There was actual silence at the Slytherin table. He'd shocked the lot of them, it seemed. "We just… don't get along," Malfoy managed.

Hitsugaya raised one white eyebrow. "So I should let who _you_ do or do not get along with dictate who _I_ associate with? That hardly seems practical."

And Hitsugaya turned to his dinner, leaving the Slytherin table in slack-jawed amazement.

* * * * *

Sitting at the head table next to Dumbledore, Urahara turned to his friend and grinned. "I think I understand what your hat did there, Albus-kun."

Dumbledore nodded. "Most of the Slytherins have come from very old families, with very old, inherited prejudices. Hitsugaya is unfamiliar with our ways and won't be intimidated into them. Not that the hat would Sort him there if he didn't belong."

Urahara speared a piece of meat. "So you're saying that your school is just as sneaky as you?"

"Even more so."

* * *

**Review responses:**

**Xandre:** Another speedy update! ^_^ Although you're right to not expect anything so quickly. I'm a notorious procrastinator, and in my long, long ago days here on fanfiction .net, this was unheard of. I'm sure one of these days I'll lose motivation and it will be months between updates. So enjoy while you can.

**missyJuliette:**Despite feeling like complete and total crap, your review made me smile. It's nice to know someone gets so excited over _my_ work. And no, Ichigo will not be attending Hogwarts, although he'll make some guest appearances. And thank you for all your suggestions! As you can see, I took your advice. ^_^

**kuaispeed:** *sniffle* You make me want to weep tears of happiness. Thanks for your support! And unfortunately I didn't put them in fourth year. But that idea is completely open for another writer *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*

**Celynne:** Thanks for taking the time to review, and thank you for the Housing suggestions. As you can see, they helped. ^_^

**Chillis:** Thanks for the support! I'm happy you enjoyed the last chapter. I still don't feel like it's my best, but all the positive reviews made me feel better about it.

**RedSnowFalls:** Oh please don't tell him that last part. I won't be able to keep him in Hogwarts! ^_^

Reviews = motivation, so thank you to all who reviewed. This chapter is for you.

Much love and hugs to all my readers. ~Dii


	6. Chapter 5: Introductions

**A/N** Just to clarify, this is set in the fifth year in the HP universe. Although, that should become apparent in this chapter, as Karin and Urahara proceed to make nuisances of themselves. ^_^ I would have put in a scene with Yuzu shocking everyone, but I can't really see Yuzu shocking everyone. At least not yet.

On a completely unrelated note, I had a midterm in my psycholinguistics class on Wednesday, and to let my brain cool down, I started writing this chapter. Anyway, there's a part where I mentioned "connotations" and one of the questions on the exam was "What's the difference between denotation and connotation?" And of course, that's all I could think about. *sigh* But it just goes to show you that all that school stuff really is used in the real world (as opposed to Soul Society? Hahaha, oh I crack myself up).

Kudos to anyone who can answer my exam question.

I do not own Harry Potter or Bleach. I make no money from the writing of this fanfiction.

* * *

"Professor Dumbledore!" a sickly sweet voice called from behind him. Dumbledore and Urahara had been walking together and they stopped to greet the interloper.

Dolores Umbridge made her way to the two friends, a smile on her toad-like face. "Can I help you, Dolores?" he asked pleasantly. Urahara was watching the squat new teacher with interest.

"It's just that you haven't introduced me to your friend," Professor Umbridge said with a girlish giggle. "Are you giving him a job here?"

Urahara's eyes were hidden in the shadow of his green-striped hat. "Forgive my manners, dear lady," he said grandly. "I am Urahara Kisuke, a humble shop-keeper from Japan."

"Kisuke and I are old friends, Dolores," Dumbledore added quickly. It was best not to let Urahara talk for too long, otherwise he was bound to offend someone. "He'll be staying here for a short time."

Umbridge's grin never faltered, but her gaze turned calculating. "Well, a friend of Dumbledore's is sure to be trustworthy, isn't he?" They couldn't fail to pick up her sarcasm. "But it isn't very seemly to have someone here who is neither teacher nor student."

"Who says I'm not a student?" Urahara asked philosophically.

_Is she really going to fight me on _this_?_ Dumbledore wondered to himself, ignoring Urahara. Was Umbridge just testing the waters, seeing how much power Dumbledore was going to grant her willingly or-?

"In fact," Urahara was saying pleasantly, "I think I'd quite like to become a student here, Albus-kun. Can I be on the Quidditch team?"

Umbridge stared at the former captain. "Certainly you've already been through school, Mr…err, Hoolihan."

Urahara ignored the mispronunciation of his name. "Certainly," he repeated. "But the Academy was nothing like this, and it's always fun to learn new things."

Dumbledore knew he should put a stop to this exchange, but truth be told, he was rather tired of putting up with the Ministry's nonsense. Urahara liked nonsense, let him deal with it for once. It was a pleasant break.

"Are you saying that you aren't a wizard?" There was a hard glint in her eyes that was hardly masked by her miserable giggling. "What an absurd idea! Surely_ even_ Professor Dumbledore wouldn't pull a stunt like that."

"Well," Urahara's voice turned soft and low, "I've certainly been called a wizard on more than one occasion." He leaned slightly towards Umbridge, and there was no mistaking the connotation of his words. "Would you care to check my credentials?"

Umbridge was speechless, her wide mouth hanging open in disbelief.

Urahara straightened up and turned to his friend cheerfully. "Come on, Albus-kun," he said now in a voice more like that of a particularly mischievous child, "Ukitake entrusted me with some candy for Shiro-chan." And still in a child-like manner, he tugged on Dumbledore's hand as they headed down the hall, leaving Umbridge in her speechless pose.

* * * * *

Harry supposed he really _should _be used to the whispers by now. But it still upset him a bit to see some of the older students muttering to the first years, pausing only to stare at him as he passed. Couldn't they at least wait until later in the term to start this? It was the first day, for chrissakes. "Ignore them," Hermione whispered to him sanctimoniously. And he tried. Really. At least until…

"Well! That's got to be the _stupidest_ thing I've ever heard!"

Everyone in the common room turned to stare at the small first year girl. Harry noticed with a start that she had been one of the girls with that white-haired Slytherin kid.

"Why on earth would someone make up such a terrible story?" the girl was saying loudly. "And by your own account," she pointed vehemently to the boy who had been whispering to her, "you've lived with him for a few years now, has he ever shown himself to be capable of something like that?"

The boy's eyes were as round as saucers. "W-well…" he stammered, but the girl didn't let him finish.

"And if anyone really thought he was capable of murder, you think they'd let him back here?"

"The Minister of Magic-" someone started tentatively.

The girl whirled on him. "Because he's proved himself to be incapable of making mistakes, has he?" her voice dripped with sarcasm. "Who're you gonna believe? Some politician trying to make _himself_ look good- because that's what politicians do- or your teachers who you _know_?" And she turned away from them in disgust, without giving them time to answer.

When she saw Harry watching her, she scowled. "And what are _you_ staring at?"

Hermione had to cover her mouth to hide her giggles. Harry grinned his own amusement. "I'm Harry Potter."

"Oh," the girl said, not looking in the least embarrassed. "Kurosaki Karin. And I hate gossip-mongers."

"I kind of noticed that."

Karin gave Harry a long, hard look. "I like to make my own judgments about people. And I may end up hating you, but I don't think you're a murderer."

Harry found the girl's candor rather refreshing. "Thank you."

"So," she looked around the common room, filled with mostly startled Gryffindors, "there any soccer teams in this school?"

Harry gladly introduced her to fellow soccer enthusiast, Dean Thomas, and turned to Ron who was struggling to keep from laughing. "Looks like you've got a new fan there, mate," he said, grinning widely.

"Not exactly a _fan_, Ron," Hermione corrected seriously, although a smile was twitching the corners of her mouth. "Karin just said she didn't think Harry was a murderer."

"Well, that's better than he's been getting from most people, ain't it?" Ron slapped Harry on the back.

"Oh, shut it, the both of you," Harry said, but it was with good humor. He had a feeling that if there were more first years like Karin, this year would be fairly bearable.

"Oi, Harry, got a new girlfriend?" George catcalled over at him.

"She's quite the looker there, Harry. Little young for you though, mate," Fred chimed in.

Using his perfected summoning charm, Harry sent pillows zooming over to pelt both twins.

* * *

**Review Responses**

**Celynne: **No, as fun as Professor Urahara would be, he's just at the head table as Dumbledore's bff. And I'm not quite sure what you mean by making them "paranoid," but there will be some interhouse friction and Hitsu being Slytherin will be cause for some mistrust.

**missyJuliette:** Haha, I don't mind. No, there won't be any Shinigami lessons. Hitsu might teach them some basics or some theory, but nothing overt. Yuzu and Karin don't technically know about Shinigami and Soul Society and such. And Dumbledore isn't really Shinigami. I'd consider him something closer to the Quincies. So no, no Shinigami lessons from Dumbledore either.

**Lulun221:** Yeah? Well so's your face. lol. Love you, bestie. I'm excited for tomorrow.

**Shinigami2c:** Yeah, sorry for the long hiatus. Haha, that's definitely an idea. But I think that Karin will just stick to verbal thrashings. Especially since a fight might upset Yuzu.

**kuaispeed:** Yeah, that was what made the idea so attractive. I can't wait until Umbridge tries to recruit Hitsu for her little taskforce- the whatchamacallit that Malfoy was part of. *rubs hands together* That's gonna be fun.

**Konsu:** To answer your question, there will be a lot of interaction between the main Harry Potter characters and our three. Whether or not they'll become bffs remains to be seen. I just have to see how they interact.

**reader238, Chillis, benihime. chan, Xandre:** Thank you for your encouraging remarks and for taking the time to review. There would be no story with no reviewers.

Time to study! Thanks for reading.~Dii


	7. Chapter 6: Attack!

**A/N** If ever there is a day to expect updates from me, it's gonna be Mondays. I've got three classes with three hours between them, and parking's a stone biotch, so it's not worth it for me to go home between classes. Updates on any other days are flukes. Or I was really, really bored.

I've upped the rating to T because of some violence and a single curse word. I always stay on the safe side with ratings. If I'm torn between two, I pick the higher one. But T is the highest it's going, don't worry.

Kudos to **reader238** and **Chillis** for getting my exam question right. Denotation is the literal definition and connotation is the psychological or emotional meaning. So if you ever take psycholinguistics, you know you'll ace at least one of the midterm questions.

I also just wanted to mention something I've changed in my profile. For those of you who've seen it, you know that I said I review all of my reviewers. I've changed that. That was my policy when I first started posting on fanfiction, and it worked then. But I have considerably more work to do now than I did then (and there were less people here!) and some of you have really long fics, and I always read the entire thing before reviewing. So, if you have a fic that you really want my opinion on, please feel free to PM me. Otherwise, I probably won't read it.

One last thing, I promise. A lot of you leave questions for me in your reviews, and then apologize for asking. _Never_ be sorry for asking a question. I have a very organic writing style. I don't plan things out ahead of time, so you might ask a question I'd never even considered, and it might spark some idea for the story. The same goes for school, too. I can't count how many times I thought I understood the material, and someone asks the prof a question, and I'm like, "Oh yeah, I didn't get that either." Never be afraid to ask questions and never apologize for it.

Okay, off my soap box now. Sorry for the long author's note! And I'm not gonna write the disclaimer anymore. It takes too much effort, and if you didn't catch it yet, you aren't gonna. It remains for the rest of the fic.

* * *

It was the next morning at breakfast that the students got their schedules. Some people were happier about it than others. "Toshirou!" Karin ran over to the white-haired captain sitting at the Slytherin table. "Did you see, Toshirou? We've got Transfiguration together."

One of the Slytherins opened his mouth to say something that probably wasn't altogether complimentary, but shut it quickly at an icy glance from Hitsugaya. The Shinigami had already earned a reputation among the Slytherins. Crabbe and Goyle had found Hitsugaya's Soul Candy, and had been about to eat it, when the diminutive captain had casually flipped them both on their backs. They of course didn't know that it had been for their own good.

"And I've got Herbology with Yuzu," Karin continued, obliviously. "What about you, Toshirou?" And she snatched Hitsugaya's schedule up without giving him time answer. He let her- it was easier than responding.

"Oh dear, so _that's_ what smells."

Malfoy- flanked by Crabbe and Goyle- had approached Hitsugaya and Karin. Hitsugaya had been aware of their approach but hadn't said anything. He knew Karin could take care of herself.

"I know Gryffindors aren't the brightest bunch, but honestly, to not know where your own table is? That's hitting a new low."

Karin looked up from Hitsugaya's schedule scowling. "Ne, Toshirou, is this guy a friend of your's?"

"Not at all."

Malfoy didn't seem to like that answer. He was used to Slytherins deferring to him and fawning over him. It was a privilege to be his friend. "Nor would I associate with a Mudblood-lover," he sneered.

But to the surprise of the Slytherins, Karin laughed. "_What_ was that?" She looked at Hitsugaya. "Did he just call me a Mudblood?"

"I believe so."

Karin laughed harder. "What does that even _mean_? It sounds ridiculous."

Malfoy looked stunned. "It's, ah, an insult," he said lamely.

Karin shook her head, still laughing. "We've both got the afternoon off, Toshirou. Meet me by the lake?"

Hitsugaya nodded. "All right."

Malfoy tried to save himself a modicum of dignity by turning on his heel and leaving, but Karin's laughter reached him even as she headed back to the Gryffindor table.

Hitsugaya was ready to turn to his breakfast and eat in peace when Urahara swooped down on him. "Shiro-chan!" the blonde man said happily. With difficulty, Hitsugaya willed his eyebrow not to twitch. "I'm afraid I have to leave today Shiro-chan. You won't be scared without me, will you?"

_Don't twitch, don't twitch_, Hitsugaya thought without replying.

Urahara clapped him on the shoulder and leaned forward. "Watch out for that Umbridge character," he whispered in the captain's ear, in a rare moment of seriousness. But it was gone just as quickly as it came. Urahara straightened up. "Ukitake-san gave me this for you. He said it was your favorite kind and would make you feel less homesick, Shiro-chan." Urahara handed Hitsugaya a bag of candy.

Hitsugaya lost the battle with his eyebrow as it twitched uncontrollably.

*****

The day had been uneventful- Herbology and History of Magic- and Hitsugaya headed out to meet Karin. He saw her talking to a knot of other students, a soccer ball under her arm, but she broke off and waved to Hitsugaya when she saw him. "Toshirou! Over here!" But she was impatient as ever and jogged over to him, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the group. "We're gonna play soccer, Toshirou. Some of them have never heard of it- can you imagine!- but they said they'd try it out. You will play with us, won't you Toshirou?"

Hitsugaya's first instinct was to say no. After all, he was not a social person. But if this became a regular occurrence, it would become a simple way to keep his eye on Karin. Besides, he really didn't have anything better to do. "All right."

"Isn't he from Slytherin?"

Hitsugaya looked at the tall red-head who'd spoken. The redhead met his gaze defiantly. "We don't hang with Malfoy's ilk."

"Ron…" Hermione started placatingly. "If he's Karin's friend he's welcome here." She gave Hitsugaya a friendly smile, which faltered when Hitsugaya didn't return it.

"Toshirou plays soccer really well," Karin said. She tugged on Hitsugaya's hand. "Ne, Toshirou?"

"If you say," was his only reply.

"Hey, Harry," George said with a grin, "you'd better be careful or a Slytherin will steal your girlfriend."

With infinite precision, Karin kicked her soccer ball into George's stomach. Fred only laughed at his twin's predicament.

It eased the tension, and once both twins could breathe again, Karin and Dean started explaining soccer to the group.

Hitsugaya stood off to the side. He knew if it wasn't for Karin, he wouldn't be welcome there, but it didn't bother him. Not at all. His strange appearance, icy personality, and intelligence rarely made him friends. But he had the unquestioning loyalty of his squad, and that was all that mattered. Really.

One of the others moved to stand near him. Hitsugaya pretended not to notice.

"It's rare for a Gryffindor and a Slytherin to be friends," Harry said softly. "We're normally at each other's throats."

"I'd figured as much."

"But the Sorting Hat was right." Harry's eyes darkened. "We're all in danger and we need to stick together to fight it. I didn't think I'd ever say that to a Slytherin."

Hitsugaya said nothing, but he understood. Harry Potter had been mentioned often in the common room, and never in pleasant terms.

"But Karin doesn't seem the type to be friends with someone- well, someone like most Slytherins. So I'm willing to give you a chance. Not that _that_ will win you many friends, anyway."

Hitsugaya snorted. "I'm not looking for friends." He cast a sideways glance at Harry. "The Sorting Hat gave some good advice. You're right to listen to it."

Something wasn't right. Hitsugaya could feel it suddenly. His hollow detector was quiet, but Hitsugaya wasn't Soul Society's youngest captain for nothing. He turned to Harry abruptly, and whatever the young wizard had been about to say died on his lips. "Get inside," Hitsugaya ordered. "Get everyone inside!"

All the other students had heard him, and looked at him with surprise. "Now! Get Dumbledore!"

Karin seemed to be the only one who understood, and started pushing people towards the school. But they were confused and a little bit angry. They seemed to think Hitsugaya was pulling a prank on them.

It was too late anyway. Hitsugaya's hollow detector chirped, and a hollow roared as it broke through the trees of the Forbidden Forest.

"_Shinigami_," the hollow moaned turning towards Hitsugaya. It was unpleasant thing, like all hollow. It was large and green, with writhing tentacles, like some sort of living plant. It's white mask sat in the middle of the tentacles.

Hitsugaya popped a piece of Soul Candy in his mouth and stepped out of his gigai, feeling a moment of relief when Hyorinmaru bumped against his back.

Trusting the mod soul to take care of his gigai, Hitsugaya flashed stepped away from the group of students. If the hollow was after him, then it was best to get away from noncombatants quickly.

The hollow managed to anticipate Hitsugaya's flash step, though, and was turned to face Hitsugaya when the captain reappeared.

"It's been so long since I tasted the soul of a Shinigami," the thing moaned again, lashing at Hitsugaya with a single tentacle.

Hitsugaya dodged it easily, and drew his zanpakuto, slicing the tentacle neatly off. The hollow howled in pain, but Hitsugaya didn't relax. If the hollow had defeated Shinigami, then the minor injury wouldn't even slow it down.

The hollow was enraged now and started attacking Hitsugaya from all sides with everyone of its tentacles. But using shunpo, Hitsugaya easily parried or dodged them, even managing to slice off a few more. He frowned to himself. This was too easy. The hollow must have something else up its sleeve if it had defeated other Shinigami.

Something whistled past Hitsugaya's head, and he turned to see a soccer ball surrounded in reiatsu knock one of the detached tentacles out of the air, just as a second one pierced his shoulder.

Hitsugaya's shoulder screamed in pain, but he ignored it. The hollow, angry at the interference, had turned its attention to Karin, and Hitsugaya noticed with a start that some of the other students were still there as well, staring at the hollow with their mouths open.

_Time to end this quickly,_ Hitsugaya thought to himself.

_I quite agree, Toshirou_, a voice like an icy wind said in Hitsugaya's mind.

"Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru!"

The ice dragon sprouted from Hitsugaya's katana, and hit the hollow squarely in the middle of its mask. The hollow split in half with one last roar and then dissolved.

*****

Hitsugaya held his shoulder, his zanpakuto dangling from his hand. It was bleeding badly, and Hitsugaya cursed himself for allowing a hollow to injure him. He'd underestimated it, and it had cost him. But the wound- though bloody and painful- was minor and would heal nicely in his gigai.

He made his way towards Karin and the three students who had stayed- Harry Potter and the Weasley twins. Hitsugaya wondered if the others could see the hollow as well, or if these three were the only ones with a strong enough reiatsu. They were currently staring at the spot where the hollow had been when Hitsugaya had purified it.

The other students, along with Hitsugaya's gigai, were gone, presumably to safety.

"Is anyone hurt?" he asked quietly of Karin since she seemed to be the only one not shell-shocked by the experience.

She shook her head. "It didn't come near us. It was only after you, Toshirou."

"I'm fine," he said, even as he bled through his fingers. "Thanks to you," he added. If she hadn't taken care of one of the tentacles, he would have two holes in him. Probably in more critical spots.

It was then that Dumbledore came running, followed by Ron, Hermione, Hitsugaya's gigai, and rather dismayingly, Umbridge.

"Toshirou! What happened?" Dumbledore asked as he came to a stop in front of Hitsugaya. The headmaster's blue eyes were worried as they took in Hitsugaya's bloody shoulder and the zanpakuto- now in its unreleased form- in his hand.

Umbridge coughed delicately. "Professor Dumbledore, who are you talking to?" She looked pointedly at Hitsugaya's gigai, which was standing behind Dumbledore. Clearly, she couldn't see Hitsugaya in his Shinigami form. Neither could Ron or Hermione, judging by their own confused looks, but they stayed silent.

"Hollow," Hitsugaya said simply as he walked past Dumbledore to his gigai. It seemed he had a responsible mod soul, for once. It was good to know that Hitsugaya could count on it in a pinch.

The pain in Hitsugaya's shoulder dulled immediately when he entered the gigai. Let it never be said that Urahara did shoddy work.

Dumbledore turned to face him now. Hitsugaya knew he had to give an answer to the question in Dumbledore's question within Umbridge's hearing, but he was reluctant to tell her the truth. He remembered Urahara's warning, and although the former captain might come across as laid-back and rather ridiculous, he was nothing if not sharp.

"I had a- bad feeling. Like something dangerous was coming," was what Hitsugaya finally said. He had to swallow his pride to say the next, "It really scared me. But it's gone now."

Umbridge sniffed. "I didn't know you pampered your students so, Dumbledore. You come running just because one of your students is a little jumpy?" And again, that terrible giggle. "I'd have thought Slytherins were made of stronger stuff."

Hitsugaya had to turn away so that Umbridge wouldn't see his fury. But it was a good thing for her that he couldn't draw Hyorinmaru in his gigai, because his fingers itched to.

"Well, there is a reason the Forbidden Forest is _forbidden_, Dolores. It's entirely possible something got close to the edge of the forest, and that's what frightened the students." Dumbledore's voice was almost apologetic, as if he knew what this ruse was costing Hitsugaya. "I'll have a look around, just to be sure."

"Well, I can't stop you from wasting your time, Dumbledore, but I have classes to prepare for." She turned to leave, but only Hitsugaya heard the last bit she muttered under her breath, "Doddering old fool."

Dumbledore waited until she was out of sight- presumably to make sure she wasn't in earshot, but really to allow Hitsugaya's anger to calm. "Toshirou," he said gently. "Are you all right?"

"The gigai will help me heal." Urahara had made it with this very scenario in mind, it seemed. Hitsugaya could feel the healing kidou working. It was slight, but it would allow the wound to heal even more quickly. "Have you ever had hollow attacks before?"

"No. The school's protections kept them at bay."

And hollows generally didn't like food that fought back. Except for those with a taste for Shinigami souls. "It had defeated Shinigami before, so it was stronger than the others. It came for me."

"Err, Professor Dumbledore," Ron spoke up, "excuse me, but what the hell is going on here?"

* * *

**Review Responses:**

**Nefarious Seraph 13:** They won't have familiars. That's just adding more trouble, and I started this fic to relax me, not add stress. ^_^ I have thought about their wands, but I'm not going to say it here, because I might mention it in a later chapter. But PM me if you really want to know! My plans are for this fic to only span one year. There is always the possibility of sequels, but this fic only takes place during fifth year, so no worries. Has Karin been told about Soul Society? I didn't remember that happening, but if it's not some really long psychological term, I can't be sure. And I've read all of HP and seen all of Bleach (episode 242). I haven't read the manga or seen the HP movies (minus the first).

**reader238:** Well it wasn't at Malfoy, but your comment gave me the idea for it in the hollow fight, so thanks!

**Xandre: **No worries, lol. I had a textbook and a lecture on it. I was just wondering if anyone else knew. (And Urahara's coming back, no worries. *shhhhh*)

**Chillis:** Thanks! I know they never mention it, but I just couldn't see Karin allowing gossip. It's not her style. And it was a good way to introduce her to Harry & Co.

**kuaispeed: **Yeah, I was just too lazy to look it up, lol. And I hope you like the George/Karin interaction in this chapter. You gave me the idea for it. And I saw 241, but I don't remember Hyorinmaru making a funny, but I did have a midterm and three quizzes last week. If it's not inductive generalization or morphology or the psychology of sex offenders, it probably leaked out my ear. Remind me?

**missyJuliette:** Friends? Possibly. Probably. Most likely. It'd be too hard to have the HP crew in the fic otherwise. ^_^

**anaime7:** Thanks! I hope to be able to continue it, lol.


	8. Chapter 7: Captain Class

**A/N** Okay, so I watched the soccer episode again, and besides it being the most abso-freaking-lutely adorable episode ever, I realized I'd forgotten a lot. Namely that Karin had figured out that Ichigo was a Shinigami and that Hitsugaya was a Shinigami captain and that Matsumoto was his vice-captain. Hehe, whoops. But this actually makes things easier for me, so thanks to everyone who pointed it out.

Btw, anyone seen 243 yet? I love Kira, but he was kind of creepy. And you can thank my CogSci prof for this early update. He was especially boring this morning. I wrote half this chapter during class. But I'm not sure I did so well with the nasty. I'm not very good at nasty, even though I'm a girl and girls are supposed to be good at relational aggression. (Kudos to anyone who can give me the definition of relational aggression)

Okay, it seems there was some confusion about the last chapter. Harry and the Weasley twins were the only ones who could see the hollow _and_ Hitsugaya in his Shinigami form. Ron and Hermione could not. There will be other characters later that can see him as well, but for now it's just Harry, Fred, and George. And Dumbledore too, of course. And the hollow was _not_ the giant squid (although reading it over now, that's actually kind of what it sounds like). I tried to make it plant-like, but I apparently failed. Oh well. The rest of your questions should be answered in this chapter, and if not, well, you know my policy on questions. ^_^

* * *

Harry still couldn't really wrap his head around what had happened. A monster appeared from the forest. Okay, that he could handle. The forest had a lot of monsters.

But it was a monster that apparently not everyone could see. And then the white-haired Slytherin kid had popped a piece of candy and there had been _two _of him- one in school robes, and one in an entirely different set of robes. With a sword. A _sword_.

The one with the sword had disappeared and then reappeared on the other side of that monster- apparently standing on _air_- and had fought it with a speed like Harry had never seen, chopping off the thing's tentacles. But the tentacles were still _alive_ and attacked the kid from behind, except Karin kicked a soccer ball that managed to dissolve one of the tentacles.

The kid got hit, the monster turned towards Karin and then the kid's freaking sword _exploded_ into a giant ice dragon and killed the monster. Then the kid's sword is a sword again, and he's bleeding and Ron and Hermione come with Dumbledore and Umbridge. But Dumbledore's the only one who can see the kid. And the kid friggin' goes back into the other one of him, and it's bye-bye blood and sword.

What. The. Hell?

If Fred and George hadn't seen everything Harry had seen, he would have voluntarily checked himself into St. Mungo's.

But they had. And now the three of them were sitting in front of Professor Dumbledore, waiting for an explanation.

And once again, Dumbledore was very carefully not looking at Harry.

If Harry weren't mildly freaking out, he might have wondered where Karin and Hitsugaya were. And what the other students had been told. But his mind was far, far away from that.

"I'm sure you all are wondering about what you saw earlier," Dumbledore said gently.

"What _was _that thing?" Fred asked in a cracked voice.

"It's called a hollow. It's a type of bad spirit that became consumed with anger and jealousy because it couldn't move on." Dumbledore leaned forward to look Fred in the eye, avoiding Harry's gaze. "Hitsugaya Toshirou is from a kind of magical race, called the Shinigami, that trains to fight the hollow. The soul has to be removed from the body in order for him to fight it, which is why you saw two of him."

"And the sword?" Harry asked. "What was that?"

Dumbledore turned towards him and looked at a point just next to Harry's right ear. "It's called a zanpakuto. It's formed from the Shinigami's soul and powers and no one other than the Shinigami it belongs to can use it." He said this last pointedly, as though they'd been thinking about stealing and using the zanpakuto.

"Professor," now it was George's turn, " why haven't we heard any of this before?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Because I think I am the only wizard to know about all of this, until now. As you saw, not everyone can see Shinigami and hollow. In fact, it's rather rare to be able to. Those who are able to, rarely encounter either."

"How do you know all this, Professor?"

"I was lucky enough to meet a Shinigami in my youth who was more than willing to explain everything."

With brilliant clarity, Harry understood. "That guy. That was sitting at the Head Table last night. He's-"

"Yes. For the most part." Dumbledore didn't elaborate further. They had enough to wrap their heads around without Urahara's story added to the mix. He was about to dismiss them, when George thought up one last question.

"Professor, you mean that Toshirou kid is- I mean, he's not-" George frowned, trying to put his question into words. "Is he human?"

Dumbledore sighed. Of course Urahara had to leave just before all of this happened. "Toshirou wouldn't be a student at Hogwarts if he couldn't become a wizard," Dumbledore replied gently, hoping they wouldn't notice that he hadn't precisely answered the question. Telling them that Hitsugaya was actually from the world of the dead was probably more than they could handle right now. They had after all just been through a traumatic event.

But the three students seemed satisfied with that answer. "Now understand, the Ministry cannot know about this," Dumbledore said clearly. "I believe that you know who you can trust on this matter, but tell as few people as possible. I don't want this story leaking out."

"Yes, Professor," the three students said simultaneously.

*****

"…and that's the end of it," Harry told Ron and Hermione that night- or should he say, the next morning. They'd waited for the common room to empty and it had taken longer than Harry had anticipated to relate the story, since neither Ron or Hermione had seen what had happened. Harry was quite sure that they were now into the small hours of the morning.

Ron shook his head. "This is too effing weird, mate. You keep seeing things that no one else can, eh? I wouldn't believe you if I hadn't felt-" he broke off, shuddering. By their account, none of the other students present had been able to see the monster- err, _hollow_- but they all ran because they'd had this terrible feeling. "Like a horde of dementors was coming," as Ron said. Only Ron and Hermione had had the presence of mind to fetch the headmaster as Toshirou had bade them, unfortunately running into Umbridge on the way. Harry, Fred and George, on the other hand, had been too shocked by the appearance of the hollow and Toshirou's cloning act to move.

Hermione tapped her lips with a finger, a kind of thoughtful worry on her face. "Shinigami…" she said slowly. Harry turned to her expectantly. Of course _Hermione_ would be the only one to have heard of all this before. "It's a Japanese term, sometimes translated as death god or soul reaper. It's kind of equivalent to the Western idea of the Grim Reaper."

Harry started to laugh at the idea of Toshirou in a black mask wielding a scythe, but his mirth died at the look of worry on his friend's face. "What is it?"

"Well, some myths portray Shinigami as helpful- protecting the living and helping the souls of the dead cross over. But there are others where the Shinigami _are _the death-bringers."

"Hermione, those are _myths_. Toshirou saved our lives today."

"She's got a point," Ron spoke up. "The bloke _is_ a Slytherin. You can't trust him, mate. What if he's here to kill you?"

"The _hollow_, Ron…"

"He said it was after him, didn't he? It wouldn't have done the job for him."

Harry rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted.

"Toshirou saved our lives." The three turned to see Karin, outlined by the muted glow of the fire. "Shinigami protect people."

"No offense, Karin, but we've had some more experience with the types of people Sorted into Slytherin," Ron said, almost dismissively. "And if the Sorting Hat thinks that Shinigami are Slytherin material-"

"My brother's a Shinigami."

Ron stopped, his mouth hanging open. "You have the sensitivity of a _stone_," Hermione hissed in his ear.

"Toshirou saved my life before, too. Shinigami protect people," she repeated.

"Yes, of course. Ron's just being foolish, aren't you Ron?" Hermione said sternly, and Ron nodded sheepishly. Hermione put a companionable arm around Karin's shoulders. "Come on, you should get back to bed. And so should you two," she added over her shoulder.

Once they were gone, Ron turned to Harry looking thoroughly chagrined. "How was I supposed to know her brother was one of 'em?"

Harry shook his head. He was still surprised at how _dense_ Ron could be sometimes. "You knew she was friends with Toshirou."

"Yeah, but-"

"How do you like it when people accuse your friends of committing murder?"

Ron's jaw snapped shut as he remembered the blow up with Seamus Finnigan from only the night before.

Harry stood up, patting Ron on the shoulder. "Tact, mate. Learn some tact."

*****

Thankfully, the rest of the week passed without any further hollow attacks, giving Hitsugaya's shoulder a chance to heal properly. Although there was no outward evidence of the wound in his gigai, the shoulder was sore and sometimes difficult to move. Hitsugaya wished that he had a member of the fourth squad with him. Urahara might have infused the gigai with healing kidou, but it was weak and no replacement for the caring attention of Hanatarou or another seated officer in the fourth.

But he managed to do without. Surprisingly enough, though, he had plenty of help. His fictitious story had made its rounds through the school (damn that Umbridge woman) and subsequently, Hitsugaya had faced ridicule, which he had expected and could easily handle. But what he hadn't expected was the amount of people sticking up for him. Oh, he had expected it from the Kurosaki twins- protectiveness was a Kurosaki trait, it seemed- but he hadn't expected it from any one else.

The Weasley twins threatened pranks on anyone who poked fun at Hitsugaya (which seemed to be a rather effective threat). Harry, Ron and Hermione wouldn't hear anything against him, either (though Ron seemed reluctant to defend a Slytherin). The other students that had been at the soccer match, although they didn't know what had really happened, had sensed the hollow and fled from the terrifying feeling, and they said as much to Hitsugaya's would-be tormentors.

But the most surprising was the protection from people Hitsugaya didn't even _know_. It seemed that between the popular Weasley twins and the famous Harry Potter (who's influence might have been limited, but it seemed he had a rather loyal following) most students realized that Hitsugaya hadn't been a coward and had actually done something rather brave. What, they still didn't know, but they accepted that it wasn't a story meant for Ministry ears and needed to be kept under wraps. Hitsugaya had even been vehemently defended by a fourth Weasley- Ginny, he later learned- to the point where she'd hexed the other student (a Bat-Bogey hex, George had told him in a hushed, almost reverent voice).

It was all rather disconcerting to the Shinigami captain. This was behavior he would expect from his subordinates, not from students he barely knew or didn't know at all. And even his subordinates were more defending themselves than their captain. They knew their captain didn't need that kind of help. But the Hogwarts students had no idea of Hitsugaya's rank as a Shinigami. It was disconcerting, but Hitsugaya had to admit to himself, rather nice.

"Toshirou-kun!" Yuzu caught up with him as he headed to their shared Potions class. "How's your shoulder? Does it hurt?"

Yuzu hadn't been anywhere near the hollow attack, but Hitsugaya wasn't surprised that she knew about his wound. "It's fine." Truthfully, it was still a little sore, but he could move it with ease now.

She looked at him with concern, but linked her arm with his uninjured one. "Will you be my partner in class, Toshirou-kun?"

Yuzu's arm in his reminded him irresistibly of Hinamori when they'd been young, before Aizen had gotten his claws into Hitsugaya's childhood friend. It felt comfortable. "All right."

Yuzu beamed at him as they entered the dungeon. The Slytherins already there muttered darkly to themselves, but Hitsugaya's odd taste in friends was already old news to them, even after only one week. They muttered more out of habit than anything else. Besides, Hitsugaya had already proved himself quite capable of defending himself, so they daren't say anything out loud.

The Hufflepuffs were cautious in their welcome, but welcoming nonetheless. Hitsugaya could instantly see why Yuzu had been sorted into the House. They were all very kind and accepting. And Yuzu's brand of gentle intelligence didn't seem at all out of place. They had their own form of bravery, the Hufflepuffs- the willingness to stick by a friend no matter what. And that too, was a Kurosaki trait.

Professor Snape walked into the dungeon, the class immediately quieting down. Snape's reputation proceeded him, although Hitsugaya's fellow Slytherins grinned to themselves. They were expecting an easy time of it, along with the entertainment of watching Snape humiliate the Hufflepuffs.

Snape glanced at Hitsugaya and sniffed almost delicately. It was clear he didn't approve of the Shinigami's seatmate. Hitsugaya didn't much care, he only hoped to shield the gentle Kurosaki twin from the man's bullying.

The class started without much incident, however. They were given the assignment and set to work as Snape wandered through the classroom, criticizing the Hufflepuffs and praising the Slytherins. He ignored Yuzu and Hitsugaya.

Until Yuzu refused to let him stir his own cauldron. "You'll aggravate your wound," she said more firmly than Hitsugaya had imagined her able to.

Hitsugaya was taken aback by the statement, at a loss for what to say. Snape immediately swooped down on them. "What's this?" he said softly. "Tell me you aren't frightened of your own cauldron, Hitsugaya." There was a nervous tittering from the Slytherin side of the room. "I'm just glad you didn't go running for the headmaster this time."

Hitsugaya bristled with anger and students shivered as the temperature dropped noticeably.

"Toshirou-kun hurt his shoulder," Yuzu said matter-of-factly.

"And that's the excuse that he used to get you to do his work? My, my, it doesn't take much to fool a Hufflepuff, does it?" Snape's tone was nasty as he turned to Yuzu. "Of course, it wouldn't take much to fool a fool. But really, Hitsugaya, you could have come up with a _believable_ story."

"Just because Kurosaki is a _decent_ human being-" Hitsugaya started through gritted teeth, struggling to reign in his flaring reiatsu.

"I think you're confusing decent human being with idiot, since she apparently is one."

Yuzu gasped, tears in her eyes. Hitsugaya's reiatsu was leaking wildly now, and the already cold air of the dungeons turned frigid. Hitsugaya's fingers itched to do something- attack, launch a kidou spell, _something_.

_Easy, Toshirou_, Hyorinmaru's voice echoed in his head, although Hitsugaya could hear the zanpakuto's carefully controlled anger. _You're frosting the walls_.

It was true. The stones of the dungeon walls were covered in frost, and the breath of the students was steaming in the suddenly wintry air. They were shivering uncontrollably.

Snape seemed to notice this as well. Frowning, he looked at the ice floating in the potions, the sputtering fires, and his students rubbing their hands and stamping their feet for warmth.

"All right, everyone out!" Snape barked. He couldn't continue the class in these conditions. "Hold it, Hitsugaya."

Hitsugaya nodded to Yuzu, who though still upset, seemed reluctant to leave him alone. He was touched by the gesture, and it allowed him to calm his anger, if only a little.

"I know you did this," Snape hissed at him when all the other students had left. "What I don't know is how."

Now that all the other students had gone, Hitsugaya offered the Potions Master a glare with the full force of his reiatsu behind it. "I'm sure there are many things that you don't know, Snape-sensei."

Snape couldn't help but shiver. He, like other wizards, had stronger reiatsu than other humans. He could easily feel the pressure of Hitsugaya's captain-class reiatsu. It was difficult for him to bear, even if he didn't understand what it was. "I am your Head of House," he gasped, trying to keep some semblance of authority. "I can make your life here very difficult."

"A threat, sensei? Is that wise?" Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow but didn't get angry- or rather, didn't get angrier. "No matter. Leave Kurosaki Yuzu alone and we won't have any problems." And he turned on his heel and left, allowing Snape to breathe properly again. Ichigo had asked Hitsugaya to look after his sisters. Hitsugaya never turned his back on a promise.

* * *

**Review Responses:**

**RedSnowFalls: **Hope this clears up your confusion. If not, you know where to find me! ^_^

**missyJuliette:** I should just name you my official proof-reader. You keep finding my typos. ^_^ And Umbridge isn't gonna get attacked by a hollow, sorry. But I have plans for her. Oh yes, I have plans... And I think I answered all your questions in the chapter, but if not, let me know.

**kuaispeed:** You know, I never knew that existed. Hehe ^_^;;;;;

**Xandre: **Yeah, as I said, the hollow was not the giant squid, but I definitely see how you made that connection. By the lake, lots of tentacles. We'll pretend it was the giant squid's cousin- Frank.

**reader23:** Aww, well just keep those ideas coming at me. You never know when I'll use them. ^_^

**Chillis:** Well again, kudos to you! I had to look it up in my textbook when studying. And I have (tentative, at this point) plans for the DA. Rest assured, our three will be in it. ^_~

**Emma Iveli, benihime chan, sarahlilly95:** Thanks for the review love! You guys are the best!

Everyone have a fun and safe Halloween! Remember, you don't have to drink to have fun. But if you are planning on drinking, I beg you, please be smart about it. Don't drink too much, stay close to friends who will keep an eye out for you, and never walk home alone. In other words, don't be Shunsui, but still make sure you have a Jyuushiro. ^_^  
~Dii


	9. Chapter 8: Concerns

**A/N** Okay, this chapter is a little shorter than my recent ones have been, but I didn't know if I'd have time to post tomorrow, and since I told you to expect updates on Monday, well, I wanted to have something for you this weekend. Kudos, once again, to reader238, for knowing the definition of relational aggression.

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to all my reviewers, favoriters, and alerters. I want to cry every time I look at the story stats. You all seriously rock.

Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. It rained here. Major bummer.

* * *

Hitsugaya refused to scowl, despite the fact that he had been summoned to the headmaster's office like any misbehaving student would have. He _wanted_ to scowl, it was his nature to scowl, but he refused point-blank to _act_ like a misbehaving student.

Dumbledore sighed to himself. Not for the first time did he recall Urahara's words- _I do not envy his teachers, not at all_- and wondered if the former captain had seen this coming. If he hadn't left to avoid undue pressure from the Ministry, Dumbledore had no doubt that his friend would be watching this with barely contained glee.

"Toshirou, I received a complaint from Severus Snape about you."

Hitsugaya said nothing, but his eyes darkened. He made a move as if to cross his arms across his chest, but stopped as his shoulder twinged.

Dumbledore noted this with some concern, but said nothing about it. Instead, he said, "Professor Snape accused you of, ahem, 'freezing his classroom.'" Again, there was no response from the small captain in front of him. "And he said you attacked him."

"I did no such thing."

Dumbledore had expected as much, but was relieved to hear Hitsugaya say it out loud. "Would you care to tell me what happened?"

"He made Kurosaki Yuzu cry."

Unfortunately, that wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence, Snape making the more sensitive students cry. And given the amount of stress the man was under, it was hardly unexpected. "Toshirou, you must understand that I have not told any of your professors that you are something other than a normal student. You cannot keep _intimidating_ them when they do something you dislike." Dumbledore rubbed his face tiredly, suddenly feeling his age. "Hogwarts is already under close scrutiny from the Ministry. Should they further interfere with the school, it will not be you or I that suffer, but your fellow students."

Hitsugaya didn't ask, but Dumbledore read the question on his face. "An uncontrollable student that his teachers cannot discipline. Don't you think they'll use that as proof that I cannot run the school without Ministry intervention?"

"They will interfere, no matter what I do." Hitsugaya had heard the insinuations in Umbridge's speech quite clearly. As a captain, he was used to political double-speak, even if he heartily disliked it.

"Yes, I know. But let's try to not give them any excuses."

Hitsugaya nodded once, an abrupt jerk of his head, but Dumbledore felt secure in taking that as an affirmative. "I'll speak to Professor Snape."

Hitsugaya took that as his dismissal, and stood to leave, hesitating for a moment. "Dumbledore-sensei?"

"Yes, Toshirou?"

"I did not mean to cause you trouble." And then he was gone from the office, as quickly as if he had used shunpo. Maybe he had, Dumbledore thought with a small smile. After all, Hitsugaya-taicho did not seem the type to be at all comfortable with apologies.

*****

Hitsugaya's life at Hogwarts fell into easy routine, just as it had in his Academy days. Complete his studies, read in the library, glare at people who looked like they wanted to say something nasty to him, and he excelled quickly in his classes. It was pretty much just how his life had been in the Academy.

Except here, people stopped him in the halls just to say hi, or to invite him to take part in whatever they were doing. Older students in the library with him offered to help him find books. Students in his year asked him for his help on their assignments. The Weasley twins offered him deals on their Skiving Snack boxes (which he politely turned down). And of course, Karin and Yuzu were always there, chattering pleasantly with him or inviting him to a game of soccer. None of them seemed to be off-put by his cold personality and lack of social grace. They didn't seem to care when he honestly just didn't know what to say and therefore stayed quiet; they filled in the silences quite cheerfully. He'd even managed to gain the grudging respect of the Slytherins in his year. Still, he couldn't forget who he was or his responsibilities.

"_Tai-chooooo!_"

If Hitsugaya hadn't recognized his lieutenant's voice, he would know her by the large, heavy weight now pressing on the top of his head, and the arms wrapped around his chest. His eyebrow twitched.

"I _missed _you, taicho!"

The other students in the hallway stared at the strange woman seemingly assaulting Hitsugaya. After the incident with Snape, he'd become rather infamous around the school for not taking any crap. So they all wondered why he was putting up with this ignominious display of affection.

Little did they know that Matsumoto hadn't changed in all her years as his subordinate, and wasn't likely to anytime soon.

"It's been so _boring_, taicho," Matsumoto continued, a slight whine to her voice. "I don't how you do it. I don't ever wanna be captain."

"Matsumoto," Hitsugaya said in a low, dangerous voice. "Get. Off."

Pouting, Matsumoto complied. "Didn't you miss me, taicho?"

Raking his fingers through his hair, Hitsugaya decided it was better not to answer. If he told the truth, he'd be treated to even more pouting and whining. "Do you have something to report, Matsumoto?" It couldn't be all that important, otherwise Matsumoto wouldn't have wasted time with public displays of affection and complaints of boredom.

"Just an update. You said you wanted to be kept informed."

Hitsugaya nodded. It could wait, then. "I have class now."

"Play hooky!" Matsumoto suggested brightly, but deflated at the disparaging look Hitsugaya gave her. "Fine," she huffed. "But I'm going to class with you."

"Absolutely not."

"But I have nothing else to do, taicho," the vice-captain whined, trailing after Hitsugaya as he walked purposefully towards his classroom.

"Pretend you have paperwork to do. You seem fine with doing nothing when that happens."

"You're so mean, taicho." Matsumoto followed him into the classroom.

"Matsumoto, out."

"_Hem, hem._"

Hitsugaya and Matsumoto both turned to face Dolores Umbridge. "Are you lost, ma'am?" Umbridge asked with false politeness.

"Are you taicho's teacher?" Matsumoto asked cheerfully. "What class is this? Can I watch?"

"I said no." Hitsugaya didn't wait for Umbridge to answer. He had the uneasy feeling that if he let Matsumoto interact with the unpleasant woman, something bad would happen. Granted, the something bad would probably happen to Umbridge, but he had just promised Dumbledore he wouldn't cause more trouble.

"But taicho-"

"If you don't leave," Hitsugaya said, losing his patience, "I will tell the fourth squad that you _graciously_ volunteered to help clean the sewers."

Matsumoto's face was horrified. "Taicho, you wouldn't! I'd never get the smell out of my hair!"

Hitsugaya only raised a single eyebrow at her, and her eyes filled with tears. "Fine," she said, lower lip quivering. "If taicho's gonna be mean-"

"_Hem, hem!_" Umbridge didn't seem at all pleased about being ignored. "What is the meaning of this, Mr. Hitsugaya?"

"Matsumoto was just leaving."

"That's not what I asked." Umbridge gave Matsumoto a long, appraising look, which the vice-captain returned, taking in the professor's cardigan and frilly headband with distaste. "It's very sweet of your mother to come and visit you, but she's interrupting our class."

"Mother!" Matsumoto exclaimed.

"Matsumoto," Hitsugaya said in a warning voice, his eyes narrowing. Umbridge must have known that Matsumoto wasn't his mother; she'd been rather astutely observing their interactions. So she was either being deliberately cruel, or fishing for information. Either way, Hitsugaya didn't like it.

"Well, you're certainly too old to be his sister," Umbridge continued with a fake giggle.

"Too _old_!" Umbridge certainly seemed to know what buttons to push with Matsumoto. "I'll show you too old, you-"

"That's enough, Matsumoto." Hitsugaya grabbed his subordinate's wrist before she could attack the Ministry woman. He had to grit his teeth as the movement sent pain shooting through his shoulder. It did little to improve his mood. "You know what? You're right. I should play hooky. I've finished the damn book, anyway." It was best for both of them to leave before that Umbridge woman could provoke them further.

Hitsugaya pulled Matsumoto out of the classroom, vaguely hearing Umbridge shout something about detention and points from Slytherin. He didn't much care. The shoulder he thought healed was throbbing now. He'd have to make a trip back to Soul Society- something wasn't right about that wound.

"Gomen, taicho," Matsumoto was saying now, sounding truly repentant for once. "I didn't mean-"

"I know."

"Where are we going now?" Matsumoto looked around them and suddenly recognized the route. "We're going to Dumbledore-san's office?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Hitsugaya's shoulder throbbed with each step he took. "Because I have to make a visit to the fourth."

Matsumoto understood immediately and was concerned. She cared deeply about her captain, but she didn't ask any of the questions that she was bursting to. He already had to swallow his pride just to go to the healers for help. She wasn't going to make it worse.

"But taicho," she whined. "If you go back, you won't need my update, and _I'll_ have to go back. And it's soooo boring."

Hitsugaya didn't say anything, but he was relieved. As much as much as she complained and got on his nerves, sometimes it was a blessing having Matsumoto as his lieutenant.

* * *

**Review Responses:**

**Bokmal14:** No, Hitsu will not be unleashing his bankai on Umbridge. Since she can't see him in Shinigami form, it would be a little lost on her, no? But she'll get her's. Eventually. ^_^

**Xandre: **Nope. Frank. And thank you for the compliment! I was feeling a little iffy about that scene, but not anymore. ^_^

**kuiaspeed:** Haha, yeah, I saw it now. ^_^;;;. I'm definitely going to give Karin more face time. This fic was _supposed_ to be about her and Yuzu, and then as an afterthought, I was like, "hey, why don't I put Hitsugaya in it, too" and now he's become the central character. But who are we exacting payback from? Snape? Cuz, beating up teachers is a big no no.

**missyJuliette:** Well, I'm being purposefully mysterious about my plans for Umbridge, mostly because I'm not really sure yet. I have a few half-formed ideas, but I'll have to see how they fit into the story

**Ilovebleach102012, TR Fan 89, sarahlilly95, Chillis, RedSnowFalls:** Thank you, my loves. Without my reviewers, I wouldn't continue the story.


	10. Chapter 9: So Many Worries

**A/N** A lot of you didn't seem to like how short last week's chapter was, so here's my longest chapter to date. Sorry about last monday, but I had an exam and wanted to study. And once again, I don't think I'll be able to post this coming monday. I volunteered to work at an H1N1 vaccination clinic on campus, and I have 2 papers and an exam. This will have to suffice, and I'll see if I have time to post later in the week. Btw, if any of you have access to either flu vaccination, I recommend getting it. I get the seasonal flu shot every year with no ill effects and I plan on getting the H1N1 vaccine after my shift at the clinic. So please, consider it.

Completely off-topic, but I've recently seen some fics with a Kira/Hinamori pairing, and I am against it. 100%. Sorry if any of you are fans of that pairing, or of Hinamori, but that bitch is crazy and I will not let her near my sweet, innocent, occasionally ruthless Kira. Ever. *cuddles Kira* No Momo! Funny thing is, my sister-in-law's nickname is Momo. Me and the bestie giggle about it all the time. Speaking of the bestie, I wrote someone special into this chapter just for her!

I had some trouble with this chapter, actually having to rewrite it a few times, but I'm reasonably pleased with how it turned out.

EDIT: Whoops, I lied. Chapters 6 & 7 are both longer.

* * *

Karin was worried.

She wasn't a worrywart, as a rule. _That_ was Yuzu's shtick and Karin was perfectly comfortable being the brave one. But there were sometimes that even the brave one felt the need to be worried. And one of those times was now.

It was Toshirou. He was gone. Oh, that _fake_ one of him was there. It went about Toshirou's day, going to classes and doing homework. It was even a fair imitation of him- only speaking when spoken to and keeping to himself. But it was too polite, too pleasant. Karin knew immediately that it wasn't- couldn't be- Toshirou.

Add that to the fact that Rangiku-san was hanging around, and Karin knew for certain that something wasn't right. Karin may not have been as bright as Yuzu, but she wasn't stupid. She knew Ichi-nii had asked Toshirou to keep an eye on them. Rangiku-san was taking over the job in Toshirou's absence.

Karin let it slide for the first few days, but soon his absence was closing in on a week. Karin wanted answers, and she headed for the only person that could give them to her.

"Rangiku-san? Where's Toshirou?"

Matsumoto sighed. The mod soul ruse hadn't lasted very long, much as she had expected. But she _hadn't _expected her captain to be gone so long. "He went back, for a little while."

Karin didn't ask where to. "Why?" she demanded.

"He was hurt. He needed to go back in order to heal."

"Hurt?" Karin could still see it in her mind's eye- that monster's tentacle piercing Toshirou's shoulder. "He said he was fine! He said it was nothing."

Matsumoto held up her hands, smiling. "It's just a precaution, Karin-chan!" she said, lying through her teeth. She didn't want to worry the young Kurosaki further. "I'm sure that he's fine. He's probably just finishing up paperwork…that I didn't do…" she trailed off, looking sheepish.

Karin didn't buy it. If Toshirou was still hurt, the wound must have been more serious than he'd let on. "Rangiku-san, you'll tell me if you hear anything, right?"

"Of course, Karin-chan."

Karin left without thanking the vice-captain. Her worries hadn't been assuaged. If anything, they'd become worse. If Toshirou's wound had been that bad, and it had been left untreated for that long….

No, Karin wasn't the type to worry, but that didn't stop her when there was something to worry about.

* * * * *

Hitsugaya had begun to regret the choice he'd made in going to the fourth. Unohana-taicho hadn't been able to find anything wrong. No poison as far as she could tell, no infection. Maybe it hadn't healed correctly, she said, or maybe the blow had torn a muscle. But she still hadn't been satisfied. _Instead_ of discharging him as she should have when nothing could be found, she insisted on sending a sample of his blood to the twelfth squad. She might have missed something.

Fine, whatever. Could he go back while they were waiting? No. Could he go to his squad at least? No. Could he catch up on all the paperwork he knew Matsumoto hadn't done? No.

In short, Hitsugaya was bored out of his freaking mind. His shoulder didn't even hurt anymore. At all. Not even an itty-bitty little twinge. Maybe he had just needed to get out of his gigai. Maybe it had been defective. Maybe it was Urahara's idea as a joke. Hitsugaya was more inclined to believe the last.

"I can't leave Matsumoto alone in the real world," Hitsugaya said finally to Unohana after almost a week had passed. "You know what kind of havoc she can wreak."

"I understand, Hitsugaya-taicho, but you're still a patient."

Hitsugaya sighed. He might have _been_ a patient, but he was quickly losing his patience. "Unohana-taicho, I have a mission to complete in the real world, and who knows how long Kurotsuchi will take analyzing that sample? And if there's nothing to be found, he will take even longer."

Unohana looked at Hitsugaya for a long time. He always was a terrible patient. She could never get him to stay in bed unless he was too badly hurt to get up. And now here he was, completely painless, and ready to tear his hair out. Perhaps it was better to let him go back. After all, he was only going to school, not chasing rogue Hollows. How much trouble could he get into? "All right," she conceded. "You can go back. But I want you to check in regularly. Let me know the moment you feel more pain. And absolutely _no fighting_."

Hitsugaya often wondered how she managed to look so scary without the smile ever leaving her face. "H-hai, Unohana-taicho."

Unohana watched him go, and she couldn't help but worry about the youngest captain. It wasn't that Mayuri hadn't found something in the blood sample. He had, but he refused to even speculate before he could perform further research on it. Actually, he had wanted to perform further research on the small captain himself, but knowing the kinds of things Mayuri's research involved, Unohana had refused in a polite, but stern voice.

It was entirely possible that whatever Mayuri had found was nothing, just a some kind of meaningless abnormality that simply made Hitsugaya who he was, which is why she had not seen it fit to tell Hitsugaya. She didn't want to worry the captain over something that might turn out to be nothing.

In truth, though, Unohana didn't believe that, and she sent some of her lower seats to searching the archives for any reference of the Hollow that Hitsugaya had described.

* * * * *

Hitsugaya stayed in Soul Society another day. He wanted to make sure his squad hadn't completely fallen apart in his absence. But the Shinigami in his division waved at him cheerfully as he passed. They seemed happy to see him (not relieved, just happy) and asked how long he was back for. It was nice to see that he could trust Matsumoto with something as important as running the squad.

Paperwork was another thing altogether. Her desk was overflowing with it. But, to tell the truth, it wasn't as bad as Hitsugaya had anticipated. Matsumoto had made some effort, and that pleased him. Not that he would ever tell her that.

Still, while he was there, he might as well help out a bit. It wouldn't do his squad any good to make Yamamoto-soutaicho angry. And it reminded him of what exactly he didn't miss about his captaincy. Still, the mind-numbing simplicity of the paperwork gave him plenty of time to think.

He'd agreed to become an actual student in the school so he could use the knowledge gained to fight Aizen. But the class that should have been the most useful in that respect, Defense Against the Dark Arts, was actually the least helpful. At least, it was with that Umbridge woman at the helm. Hitsugaya could appreciate the idea behind learning the theory, but dammit, theory could only go so far. He'd read the book twice over already, and the semester wasn't even over yet. The books in the library were marginally more helpful, but without an actual teacher, that splinter of wood tucked into Hitsugaya's shihakusho remained useless.

He'd considered asking Dumbledore, of course, but the man already seemed unduly harassed. Not only did he have to deal with the Ministry's interference, but he was busy planning for a war that the rest of the wizarding community seemed prepared to ignore. Hitsugaya couldn't consider his own war more important.

Hitsugaya pulled out his wand to examine it. Silver beech and dragon heartstring. It was like the damn thing was trying to emulate his zanpakuto, though he couldn't help but think of it as inferior. Hyorinmaru was an extension of his soul; this sliver of wood would, at most, be an extension of his arm. Still, he could feel the faint pulse of its power in his fingertips. _The wand chooses the wizard_, the wand-maker had said. Maybe there were more similarities between wands and zanpakuto than he'd originally thought.

He sighed, tucking the thing back into his robes. None of this mattered until he could properly learn how to use the thing. Hitsugaya had learned Hyorinmaru's use from the zanpakuto itself, but the wand remained mute. Yet another way in which zanpakuto were preferable, he thought

"Hitsugaya-taicho?"

"Is there something I can help you with, Abarai?"

Renji rubbed the back of his neck, his crimson hair sticking up jauntily from the crown of his head. "Unohana-taicho wanted me ter- ter escort ya back," Renji mumbled, sounding slightly embarrassed.

Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed. "I do not require a chaperone to walk me to school, Abarai."

"'Course I know tha'. Bu'…" The tall vice-captain shrugged. "It's Unohana-taicho, y'know?"

Yes, Hitsugaya understood. Still, he scowled for a bit, letting the rough lieutenant squirm at the thought of the healer's wrath. "All right," he said finally, and Renji let loose a sigh of relief. "But we'll have to get your gigai from Urahara."

"Bu' Hitsugaya-taicho, I won' be there fer long. No one'll see me-"

"You don't know this school, Abarai."

* * * * *

Harry was strolling the grounds alone, deep in thought, when he heard the first cry. "_Taichooooo!_" He blinked as the strawberry blond blur passed right by him, dragging Hitsugaya with it.

Correction, dragging Hitsugaya's _body_ with it.

When he looked in the direction the blur was headed, he saw Hitsugaya- the sword-wielding one- and a strange-looking tall man with impossibly red hair and tribal tattoos above his eyebrows.

The blur had resolved itself into a woman with strawberry-blond hair that Harry had seen a few times around school. She was currently embracing Hitsugaya and seemingly smothering him with her, umm, well, you know…

"I was worried taicho! You were gone so long! Are you all better now?"

Harry always wondered how Hitsugaya's eyebrow could twitch like that. "Umm, Rangiku…" the red haired man was saying.

The woman turned on him, releasing Hitsugaya. "Renji!" she exclaimed, as though she had just seen him. "What are you doing here?"

"Unohana-taicho tol' me to."

"Then taicho isn't better?" the woman chewed her lip, looking at Hitsugaya, who was going back into the body. It made Harry go cross-eyed to watch and he closed his eyes, only opening them again when he heard Hitsugaya speak.

"I'm fine, Matsumoto. You and Abarai should head back."

"Don't be silly, taicho!" Matsumoto said brightly. "There's a bar in the village with a drink called firewhiskey!" Matsumoto hooked her arm through Renji's. "And it will be more fun to go with Renji!"

Hitsugaya's eyebrow twitched again. "Matsumoto-"

"But I've been _good_, taicho! And I waited until you got back." She pouted. "Please, taicho?"

Hitsugaya looked at Renji who just shrugged. He didn't seem to mind being dragged to the bar, but he wasn't going to argue for it either. Hitsugaya wondered briefly if Byakuya would consider trading lieutenants. He amused himself for a bit with that image before finally nodding. "All right. _If_ you promise to finish _all _of your paperwork upon your return."

"Heh." Matsumoto rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I've been doing my paperwork, taicho."

"I saw your desk."

While Matsumoto was trying to make up an excuse, Renji spotted Harry. "Oi, kid! What're ya starin' at?"

"I, err…" Harry stammered. The man looked like he could eat Harry for breakfast.

Hitsugaya shot the red-headed man a disdainful look. "He's been here the entire time, Abarai." How had someone so clueless become a vice-captain?

"Eh? Ya know 'im, Hitsugaya-taicho?"

"He's one of taicho's class-mates," Matsumoto sing-songed. "Come on, Renji. Alcohol tastes best in the middle of the day." And she started pulling Renji towards the village. "Ja ne, taicho!" she called, waving over her shoulder.

Hitsugaya hadn't gotten her to promise about the paperwork, but honestly sometimes it was just easier to let Matsumoto have her way.

He walked over to Harry, who looked like he was having some problems processing what had happened. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop Toshirou-" the boy started apologetically.

Hitsugaya waved him off. "I would have stopped them from saying anything sensitive."

They started walking towards the school together in silence as Harry tried to form his question into words. "Were- are they, err, like you?"

Hitsugaya gave the boy a side-long glance. It was the first time they'd really talked to one another since the hollow attack, despite the fact that Harry must have been bursting with questions. "They are Shinigami."

"She kept calling you something- taicho- what does that mean?"

It would be easy to tell Harry a lie. Say it was an endearment or some such nonsense. But Hitsugaya had never really been one for lying. "Captain."

Harry blinked. "Captain? Like a team captain? Or a-" Harry stopped. He saw again the quick, no-nonsense way Hitsugaya had confronted the hollow. That wasn't the way a student would react. "A military captain?"

Hitsugaya nodded, and Harry suddenly felt very, very young. "So that woman-"

"Is my vice-captain. Abarai is vice-captain of another squad."

"You're awfully young, aren't you? I mean, to be in charge like that."

Hitsugaya's eyebrow twitched again, and Harry shivered, suddenly feeling cold. He hurried to change the subject. "So how come you're here, then? You must already be strong right? So-"

"You aren't the only ones at war."

"Toshirou!" Before Harry could ask anything further, Karin came running towards them. She skidded to a halt in front of them placing her hands on her hips. "You didn't tell me you were still hurt," she scolded, wagging a finger under Hitsugaya's nose. The Shinigami looked surprised.

"I-"

"Next time you take care of a wound as soon as you get it!" She crossed her arms with a scowl, looking remarkably like her brother.

"Kurosaki-"

"Or I'll kick your ass for making Yuzu worry like that."

Hitsugaya didn't point out that he was a captain with many decades of training, and she was just a girl from the living world. Yuzu hadn't been the only one to worry, it seemed, so he let the threat slide. "I will not allow myself to be injured again."

Karin's frown deepened. "That's not what I said."

Hitsugaya didn't reply, just continued walking to the school. "Oi, Toshirou!" Karin ran to catch up with him. "Are you listening?"

They'd left Harry behind, forgotten, but he didn't mind. He had plenty of food for thought.

* * *

**Review Responses:**

**Shahar Mystral:** That's actually rather surprising. I mean, they're 11 and they already have magic powers. But I'm glad you're enjoying it.

**Lunlun221:** You're a weenie. And a nerd. pbbffft. I wrote Renji into this chapter just for you, bestie!

**DXmaryoOD:** I'm really glad you took the time to let me know. It makes my insides all warm and squishy with happiness.

**kuaispeed:** Yeah, not so much in love with the song, but I am glad that they changed it. And personally, I wanna steal Senbonzakura; it's pretty _and_ deadly. ^_^

**Xandre:** I didn't plan to have it as a recurring joke, but it just worked for that scene. I was trying to figure out how best to piss off Matsumoto.

**Ribbonseal:** Well, here's a longer chapter for you. ^_^ The real reason my chapters are so short? So I can update more quickly and get more reviews. I'm seriously like an addict here

**Bokmal14, XxFallingxxAngelxX, Chillis, missyJuliette, sarahlilly95, reader238**: You enable my review addiction. And I love you for it. ^_^

Is there actually something wrong with Hitsugaya's shoulder? Is it just a red herring? Does the author just have no clue with where she's going? Only time will tell. ^_^  
Have a good weekend! ~Dii


	11. Chapter 10: Enter Dumbledore's Army

**A/N** After writing this chapter, I'm really kind of sad that I didn't do this in 4th year. I had this image of one of the dragons deciding Hitsu was her baby. Maybe I'll write a drabble to that affect after finishing this. Btw, you guys have left me over 100 reviews! I'm choked up, really. I never expected to get that kind of response for this, and I love you all dearly. *sniffle* I would give you all kisses if I could.

Oh, and I got the swine flu vaccination. I'm still breathing, my arm's still working, and I have yet to start walking backwards. Just FYI.

* * *

"A defense club?" Karin asked, blinking.

"Yes." Hermione nodded. "The DA. We study Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Karin made a face. "We're not going to be reading that book like in class, right?"

Hermione hid a smile at the first year's look of disgust. "Well, that's kind of the point. We're not learning all that much in class, so we figured we'd just teach ourselves."

"Can Toshirou and Yuzu come?"

"Yes but," Hermione looked around the common room to make sure no one was listening, "you can't tell anyone else about this, all right? We don't exactly have the High Inquisitor stamp of approval, and if Umbridge finds out, we'll all be expelled."

Karin scowled at the woman's name. "I'm not doing anything to help _her_," Karin said definitively.

Hermione had expected just this reaction. "Good. Here-" she pressed three of the fake Galleons into Karin's hand, explaining how they worked.

Ron wasn't pleased. "Aren't the Slytherins part of the Inquisitorial Squad?" he asked later. "Aren't you taking an awful risk allowing that kid in the DA?"

"From what I hear, Toshirou refused to join the Inquisitorial Squad," Hermione told him pointedly. "And none of the other first years will join either, because of him."

Harry grinned. "If you believe the rumors, Toshirou sent Umbridge into hysterics when she asked him."

Neville had been sitting nearby and heard their conversation. "I heard that he hired a red-haired thug to convince her he wasn't interested."

A red-haired thug? Harry thought of the large, tattooed man who had escorted Toshirou back to Hogwarts. Well, he would be convincing.

"I heard it was an exceptionally, ahem, _gifted_ woman," Fred said, as he and George joined their little circle.

Of course, George wasn't to be outdone by his twin. "Well, _I_ heard that Toshirou has some special dragon training trick and he-"

"_Really_," Hermione sniffed disapprovingly. "Shouldn't you all know by now _not_ to believe the rumors in this school?"

"You started it Hermione," George pointed out with a grin. "Besides, I thought the dragon one was actually believable. He's got a dragon living in that sword thing, don't he? The zan-whatsis."

"What sword thing?" Neville asked, but Trevor chose that moment to escape, and Neville chased after him.

"The point is, Umbridge _wanted_ Toshirou as a part of the Squad," Hermione said, "but he said no. And that means we can trust him. Yes, even though he's a Slytherin, Ron," she added in an exasperated voice as Ron opened his mouth.

"Don't be such a prat, Ron," Fred said. "He saved all our lives back there. Including your's."

"Besides, haven't you learned by now to listen to people smarter than you?" George added, crossing his arms.

Fred shook his head sadly. "Nah, he never listens to us."

"Or Ginny," George agreed in the same melancholy tone as his twin.

"Or the ghoul."

"Or the gnomes."

"Or-"

Ron threw a book at his brothers, who only dodged it. The twins left, still listing things supposedly smarter than Ron. The list proceeded to get less and less complimentary as the twins walked out of earshot. Ron pretended to ignore them, but his red ears gave him away. "Look, I'm sorry. I know you guys like that Toshirou kid, but with everything the Slytherins have pulled, I can't help thinking that he's got something up his sleeve, alright?"

"Slytherins aren't sorted there because they're _evil_, Ron," Hermione spoke slowly, as if to a small child, "but because-"

"They love power? They're sly and cunning? Sounds like real winner to me," Ron scoffed.

"Toshirou's a captain," Harry said, really not wanting to listen to their bickering. "Of the Shinigami. A _military_ captain. He told me."

"Err, no offense, mate, but I think he was pulling your leg." Ron patted Harry's shoulder in an almost patronizing manner. "He's a first year, Harry. He's eleven. Twelve, at the most. Bit young to be put in charge, don't you think?"

Harry shrugged off Ron's hand. "You know that woman that was here the past couple of days?" Harry really doubted that any male in the school had missed her. "He said she was his vice-captain. And-" Harry paused. Although Matsumoto hadn't _seemed _exceptionally obedient, she had been embarrassed when Toshirou had chastised her. And she had asked his permission to go to the Hog's Head. While Toshirou hadn't exactly said yes, Harry had a feeling that Matsumoto wouldn't have gone if he'd said no. She would have fought it and complained, but she wouldn't have disobeyed. "And I believe it. Besides, you didn't see him fight that hollow, Ron. He didn't act like any first year I've seen."

"Says the guy who fought You-Know-Who his first year," Ron muttered. "Anyway, he had that zaptuko thingy-"

"Zanpakuto," Hermione corrected, shaking her head in disbelief.

"-whatever. Fred and George said it looked pretty invincible."

The zanpakuto were shaped from the Shinigami's own soul and powers, Dumbledore had said. Harry had a feeling that Toshirou's zanpakuto wouldn't be so strong if the Shinigami himself weren't very strong. Of course, Harry didn't realize just how little he'd seen of Hyorinmaru's power. "And if he's got an invincible weapon, don't you think we should befriend him?" Harry asked. "Since, you know, that would be kind of helpful in the fight against Voldemort," he ignored the winces, "especially since he's looking for a weapon now, too."

"Makes sense," Ron admitted reluctantly. Suddenly he sat up. "Hey, what if the zantaco thing is the weapon You-Know-Who is looking for-"

Deciding it best to ignore him, Harry and Hermione simultaneously turned to their Transfiguration homework. Harry didn't tell Ron that it had been his idea to invite Karin, in the hopes that she would ask Toshirou to join the DA as well. Not only would Toshirou's assistance be helpful in the upcoming war, but he had a feeling that Toshirou would find the meetings useful. After all, they weren't the only ones at war.

* * * * *

"Are you sure about this, Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya asked Karin as he followed her to the Room of Requirement. "If you're caught, you'll be expelled." Yuzu was inexplicably clinging to his arm, and he didn't have the heart to dislodge her.

"Goat-Face won't care if we're expelled," Karin said definitively, not even looking back. "I'm still not sure he understands where we are." She made a face as she remembered her father gushing about how they'd been accepted to a _special_ school for _gifted_ children, and how he would miss them but he had his beloved, though despairingly normal, son to keep him company. Ichigo had kicked him in the face at that point. "And Ichi-nii'll be proud we didn't listen to that woman."

Hitsugaya was sure that Ichigo would blame _him_ if the girls were expelled, but that was to be expected. Besides, he could see the usefulness of this DA, not only for himself, but for Karin and Yuzu as well. They both had strong reiatsu and that would make them prime targets for hollow. Learning how to defend themselves (other than reiatsu kicking soccer balls) was all for the best. And Hitsugaya couldn't readily pass up the chance to learn a possible defense against Aizen.

Reflexively, Hitsugaya rolled his shoulder, testing it, but he felt no pain. If it had happened to anyone else, Hitsugaya might have called them an alarmist, but the pain had been real and well after he'd considered it healed. Urahara had sent him a new gigai and promised to examine the old one for defects. As an after thought, Hitsugaya had given him a blood sample as well. Kurotsuchi might have been his fellow captain, but Hitsugaya somehow trusted the perverted former captain more. And he wanted an answer as soon as possible. If the time came and he had to fight, he'd really rather not cross Unohana while doing it. And Hitsugaya felt that the time would most definitely come.

"Here it is!" Karin nodded to a door next to a tapestry. "Right where senpai said it would be."

They went inside, and everyone seemed to be there already. They looked up when the three entered and there was a moment of awkward silence.

Suddenly, there was a red-haired twin on either side of Hitsugaya. "Hey, Toshirou," Fred said, clapping him on the shoulder. Part of Hitsugaya bristled at the presumed familiarity, but it was half-hearted. Western children were like that , he was quickly learning. "Quite the ladies' man, aren't you Toshirou?" Fred winked at Yuzu, who giggled.

"Hardly," Hitsugaya replied dryly.

"Don't be so modest, Toshirou," George spoke up with a grin. "You've even got Karin here, who we all thought only had eyes for Harry."

Without a soccer ball, Karin could only scowl in George's direction.

"Tell us your secrets, Toshirou!" Fred gave a mock little bow. "However did you manage to get two such lovely ladies from different Houses to accompany you?"

"Karin-chan and I are twins," Yuzu spoke up shyly.

"Twins!" Fred and George exclaimed in unison.

"Toshirou, how could you?" George shot him a horrified look.

Fred nodded . "I thought we were friends, mate."

"Don't you know twins get first dibs on twins?"

"They are kind of young for us though," Fred said thoughtfully.

"True enough," George tilted his head contemplatively. "And we do owe him one."

"All right, we'll concede this one to you, Toshirou."

"But remember the rule next time, mate." It was George's turn to pat Hitsugaya on the shoulder.

"Oi, did you just give us away?" Karin asked, still scowling. Yuzu giggled again and Hitsugaya had an annoyed look on his face.

Harry figured he should step in before the Weasley twins did themselves serious harm. "All right, now that everyone's here we should get started. Let's pair up. You three should probably pair with older students," he added to the three first years.

"I call Toshirou!" both Weasley twins exclaimed. Hitsugaya's eyebrow twitched.

That didn't see like such a good idea. "Err, why don't I work with Toshirou, and you guys can work with Karin and Yuzu."

George gravely offered an arm to Yuzu, who accepted it with a shy smile. Fred did the same to Karin, but the darker-haired Kurosaki gave him a death glare and ignored the arm.

Neville once again didn't have a partner, but that actually worked out for the best. Harry and Neville could demonstrate the spells for Hitsugaya, who watched them with a disconcertingly intense stare. Harry had a feeling that the Shinigami was absorbing everything they did. When it seemed that Hitsugaya had the basics down, Harry left them to see how the others were doing. They were working on shield charms today, which had the potentiality of being slightly dangerous. If the shield charm wasn't done properly, the curse would hit them. Of course, even if the shield charm was done properly, the curse would rebound on the caster. But Harry trusted the DA members not to use anything that would hurt one another.

He lingered near Cho Chang, watching her successfully deflect Marietta's Stunner. Before stepping forward to congratulate her, Harry cast a glance over at Hitsugaya and Neville.

"_Way of binding #1: Restrain_."

"_Pro-_urk!" Neville's arms suddenly flew behind his back. The motion set him off balance, and he fell forward- onto the pillows that had been placed there.

"What just happened?" Harry jogged over to the two. He'd never seen magic like that before. He noticed suddenly that Hitsugaya wasn't holding his wand.

Hitsugaya looked over to Harry, his teal eyes impassive. "I asked Longbottom if he would allow me to attempt something. He agreed. I didn't hurt him," he added as Harry looked over to Neville with concern.

"I'm fine, Harry." Neville's wrists were together behind his back as though they'd been tied. Hitsugaya made a movement with his hands, and Neville's wrists came apart, allowing him to stand. He seemed slightly shaken, but not hurt.

Harry whirled on Hitsugaya. "What did you _do_?" he demanded. He wasn't angry; rather he was fascinated. Neville had been quick in his attempt to cast the shield charm, but Hitsugaya's spell, whatever it was, had been instantaneous.

"A binding spell." But at the look on Harry's face, Hitsugaya knew the boy wouldn't be satisfied with that answer. He sighed. "Kidou. It's a kind of magic that Shinigami can perform."

A different kind of magic-? "Can you teach it to us?"

Hitsugaya shook his head. "That would not be wise." Kidou took years to learn to use properly, and Hitsugaya had neither the time nor the inclination to attempt to teach its use to a gaggle of human children. Besides, it was kind of against Soul Society law.

Still, he had learned something useful. Wizardry took too long to effectively block a binding spell, or at least a binding spell cast by someone who didn't need to recite the incantation. A destructive spell might yield different results, but Hitsugaya knew better than to use a destructive spell against these children. Still, it was information that Hitsugaya filed away for later use.

Harry was still watching him, and Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Are you sure you can't teach us?" Harry asked again. "I mean, that's a kind of magic that the Death Eaters don't know about. It would be really useful-"

Hitsugaya held up a hand. He knew where Harry was coming from, of course. It was for that very reason he was attending this school. "You cannot learn it," he said, though not unkindly, "and I cannot teach it to you. You are not Shinigami, and I would be committing a high crime in attempting to teach you." After all, Kuchiki Rukia had been sentenced to death for giving her powers to a human. Granted, that had been part of Aizen's machinations, and Hitsugaya really doubted that the old man would want to lose a captain at this critical time, but it wouldn't do his squad's morale any good to have their captain commit a crime of that magnitude. And he had to think of his squad. "I am sorry."

Harry nodded, though he looked disappointed. Hitsugaya once again wondered about the impact that this wizarding war would have on Soul Society. Every student at this school had at least a spark of reiatsu. Could it be that Soul Society had two wars to worry about?

* * *

**Review responses:**

**RedSnowFalls:** Hogsmeade somehow managed to survive. lol. I'd considered having a scene with Hitsugaya yelling at Matsumoto for blowing up the Hog's Head, but I felt it would detract from the story. The firewhiskey thing was really just a vehicle to put Renji in and take him out. My bestie's in love with him, so I had to have him make an appearance.

**sarahlilly95:** As survivors of the H1N1 vaccine, I feel we should get medals. Or cookies. lol. And no, not nanobots. But that would make an awesome SGA/Bleach crossover... ^_^

**reader238: **For some reason I had thought that the DA started after the winter break, which is why it took me so long to write it in. Haha, whoops. ^_^ And your idea is really cool, and I wish I had thought of it... but that's not the reason... and I like it better... ^_^

**Chillis: **It's important. I was just being facetious, lol.

**DxmaryoOD:** Well, unfortunately, it's getting to what I've termed "crunch time" in the semester, so I won't be able to update as often as I had previously. But I'll try for once a week.

**Ribbonseal:** Your warning comes too late, I fear. I was talking to my friend and I said, "Is it bad that I get upset when I log on and don't have any reviews, even though the chapter already got like 12?" She told me I should join a support group.

**missyJuliette:** The Aizen/Voldemort alliance is a possibility. I'd say it has a 50/50 chance. As for Ichigo, I had originally planned for him to make a few guest appearances, but that really hasn't been lending itself to the storyline. But I do want to confront him with the Weasley twins, eventually, because that will be far too much fun.

**Xandre:** Hahaha, that would be funny, but I didn't want her homicidal. Just a little p-oed. ^_^

**kuaispeed:** I dunno, it's kind of hard to miss being cut to ribbons by ten thousand cherry blossoms. How about you use Hyorinmaru, and I'll use Senbonzakura. ^_^ And it always makes me giggle how the hardened, bad ass Shinigami cower before Unohana's smile. But you know what they saw about healers- they know exactly what hurts the most. (P.S. You gave me my hundreth review. ^_^)

**dark0angelz:** Haha, yeah. I love Urahara. He has the same sense of humor as I do. And he's a smartie, which is always a plus. ^_^

**AbsolutelyInsaneRomantic:** Thank you! And calling it well-written gives me Yumichika-style sparkles of happiness. I'm pleased you're enjoying it.

Does anyone else think zantaco sounds like a really yummy food dish? Like an Asian-inspired taco? Or a fast food chain found in Hueco Mundo? "Welcome to Zantaco, would you like the Evil-Overlord Special?" Hahaha, I should really eat lunch now. ~Dii.


	12. Chapter 11: Thestrals

**A/N** Sorry about the long wait, guys. This was a crazy week for me. I had school things, a job interview, a doctor's appointment, and I started making Christmas presents. That's right, you heard me, making. Not for the weak hearted, let me tell you. And it's getting to crunch time in the semester, so if you here from me a little less often, sorry but school's gotta come first. I'll still try for once a week, but I make no promises.

So this is the chapter where I start taking major liberties with the hp stuffs (Not that I haven't been already; Inquisitorial Squad comes _after_ Umbridge finds out about the DA. Whoops) But this one's on purpose. And I think my Hitsu-chan's a little ooc in here, but I was reading this scene in the book and decided I must have Hitsu intervene.

Oh, and I posted that drabble I mentioned last chapter. It's titled _Mama Dragon_. Not that you should have any trouble finding it, as it is the only other story I have posted. ^_^ Take a look if you're interested.

* * *

Hitsugaya didn't use kidou again during the DA meetings. He'd seen Harry watching him intently. He didn't want to risk the boy trying to perform the kidou on his own. Not that Hitsugaya thought Harry would be able to perform even the simplest spells without the incantation, but it was still better to be safe than sorry.

Still, he was grateful to the boy and the DA. It rather made up for the sub-standard Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, and even allowed Hitsugaya to take his learning further. With the DA and the time he spent in the library, Hitsugaya was already well onto a second year's level. His professors nearly died in shock when he asked them once a week, like clockwork, for extra work on increasingly advanced subjects. And as he never asked them for anything outside of their teaching purview, Umbridge could do nothing to prevent his extracurricular learning, even though he could tell she wasn't pleased.

But Hitsugaya knew he had a long way to go before he could even attempt to use wizardry as an effective weapon against Aizen. After all, he could only hope to take Aizen by surprise once; after that, he would have to rely on his own proficiency. He really doubted that a second year student had developed far enough to offer Aizen any sort of challenge.

What he really hoped to do was to learn to use wizardry in concert with Hyorinmaru, but the Hogwarts grounds were much too small for Hitsugaya to unleash his zanpakuto just for training. He didn't wish to damage the school or risk injuring the students. Besides, Unohana had told him no fighting, and he wasn't completely sure she would see that kind of training as safe.

It also didn't help that he'd made enemies of Professors Snape and Umbridge. Both seemed determined to hinder his every movement. Snape found every opportunity possible to criticize Hitsugaya's potion work (though he never said anything more to Yuzu) and refused point-blank to help Hitsugaya learn the more advanced potions. Umbridge, on the other hand, had _tried_ giving Hitsugaya detention, but had given up when her 'special' quill hadn't been able to pierce his skin due to the strength of his reiatsu (he burned with anger at the thought of that foul woman torturing these human children like that; his reiatsu had shattered a few of those awful plates of hers before he'd gotten it under control). So instead, she settled for interfering with his life as often as she could. She sought him out specifically to send him on inane errands delivering messages, getting supplies from another teacher; all thing that could be done more quickly and efficiently using an owl or doing it herself. And she didn't much care if Hitsugaya was heading to a class or doing work when she sent him on these errands. She just smiled slyly and said that would give him an incentive to finish quickly. It wasn't that Hitsugaya was afraid of getting into trouble or falling behind in his studies; it was galling to be treated like an errand boy. But he had promised Dumbledore not to cause trouble, so he kept his temper in check, his insults behind his teeth, and did what he was told like a good little boy. He was very, very glad no one from Seireitei was there to see him.

Umbridge cornered Hitsugaya once again while he was on his way to Charms class. "Will you do me a little favor, Mr. Hitsugaya?" she asked, her high-pitched false politeness grating on his nerves. "I need you to drop this note off at the gamekeeper's cabin. You won't be too scared going that close to the Forbidden Forest will you?" Hitsugaya's fingers itched to strangle that horrible giggle right out of her.

When he didn't answer, she giggled again, setting his teeth on edge. "Well, get it finished quickly, and you won't have to worry about the scary monsters, now will you?"

Hitsugaya snatched the note from her and left before he turned the hall into a freezer. He would like nothing more than to show that woman exactly how little he had to fear, but that would fall into both categories of causing trouble and fighting. He might not be scared of much, but the captain of the fourth squad was more than worthy of his fear.

Still, he didn't worry too much about missing class. He had progressed beyond the current lessons, and Professor Flitwick well knew it. Besides the small teacher seemed to understand intuitively that Hitsugaya was _not_ an eleven-year-old child despite his appearance, and because of this, the tiny teacher seemed to feel a kinship with the Shinigami. Hitsugaya didn't take advantage of that often, but it was a beautiful day out: clear and bright and bitingly cold. Umbridge surely thought this was a punishment, sending him out without giving him time to grab his cloak and other warm weather gear, but Hitsugaya _liked_ the cold. It was clean and crisp, almost purifying, and completely undeniable. You had to respect the cold, or it would kill you slowly and painfully, from the outside in.

There was no one at the gamekeeper's cabin when Hitsugaya arrived, but there was a note on the door saying class was taking place inside the forest. He supposed to follow Umbridge's instructions to the letter, he could put the note under the door, but the thought of going back inside to the dirty, smoky, oppressive heat of the fires was depressing. Besides, the tracks of the class were awfully easy to follow in the snow. Hitsugaya leapt nimbly into one of the trees. They grew closely enough to make travel from limb to limb very easy, and the hollow _had_ come from the forest. Hitsugaya would be harder to spot in the trees, even among the bare branches.

When he arrived at the clearing where Hagrid was currently having class, he paused in the tree to examine the creatures that were apparently the subject of the class. The odd, skeletal winged horses weren't exactly pleasant to look at, but Hitsugaya could feel their reiatsu thrumming through his body. And when one of them turned to look at Hitsugaya, he could feel his breath catch in his throat; their faces were _hollow_ masks.

"Wha' in th' ruddy hell are ye doing up in tha' tree?"

Hitsugaya couldn't believe himself. He'd been so absorbed in studying the creatures that he hadn't realized the massive gamekeeper had spotted him. Was he really so out of practice that he was making such rookie mistakes? First he let the hollow injure him, and now this? He was getting much too soft.

He jumped out of the tree, landing neatly in front of Hagrid. "Note from Professor Umbridge," he said succinctly, handing the note to Hagrid, but never taking his eye off the creatures. They mostly seemed content with the carcass, although a few were looking at Hitsugaya curiously.

"So ye had ter deliver it from th' tree?" Hagrid asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"Hitsugaya probably scampered up the tree because he saw a scary bunny," Mafoy jeered. The Slytherin prefect had long since given up on befriending Hitsugaya, and had taken to ridiculing him. Or at least, trying to. When Hitsugaya didn't respond with something bitingly acerbic, it was because Malfoy's schoolboy taunts were ridiculously easy to ignore. Like right now, for instance. Hitsugaya was too busy trying to determine _what _ those horses were and whether or not they were hollow. He couldn't see a hole anywhere in them, nor did they seem particularly hungry for souls.

Hagrid noticed where Hitsugaya was looking. "You c'n see them?" he asked, and there was something sympathetic in his tone. Hitsugaya wondered at that.

"You mean not everyone can?" he asked, feigning ignorance. If they were hollow, that would most certainly fit.

"Ye can on'y see thestrals if ye've seen death."

Ah. So that was the reason for the sympathy. Hagrid thought Hitsugaya was an eleven-year-old child who'd watched someone die. A traumatic event, surely, for one who's sole purpose was not helping the dead cross over. Hitsugaya tried to think of the best way to word his next question when he felt _her_ coming. He melted into the shadows of the forest, leaving Hagrid to look around for a moment at a loss before starting the lesson again. Only to be interrupted once again by a distinct "_Hem, hem._"

Hitsugaya stood just inside the trees, wanting to learn more about the thestrals, but not wanting to come face-to-face with Umbridge. He noted that the one Hagrid had called his favorite had tracked Hitsugaya's progress into the trees. But the thestral didn't make any move towards him, aggressive or defensive. It just simply watched him.

It became less and less likely that the thing was dangerous- though, as Hagrid put it, it was quite capable of looking after itself- but Hitsugaya couldn't deny the fact that it was somehow related to the hollow. The mask was undeniable. He resolved to search the library for more information on the thestrals, since Hagrid couldn't give a satisfactory lesson with the bull Umbridge was pulling. There was a terrible feeling in the pit of Hitsugaya's stomach; he somehow knew that these creatures were related to Aizen in some way. Leftover research? A failed experiment? Whatever the case, further research was certainly warranted.

But Hitsugaya couldn't just leave Hagrid to Umbridge's bullying. He had only just met the man, but if Umbridge disliked him this much, he couldn't be half bad.

He saw his chance when Umbridge started questioning the students. One Slytherin girl- Pansy Parkinson, Hitsugaya noticed with some distaste- was telling Umbridge between fits of laughter at Hagrid's plight, that she had difficulty understanding him. "Mostly…it just sounds like grunting," she managed, tears of mirth in her eyes.

Hitsugaya stepped out of the trees then. "Perhaps Miss Parkinson is simply hard of hearing," he said coolly. "I certainly have no issues understanding Hagrid. And this is our first meeting." The Gryffindors, who had been looking at Umbridge with hatred for her treatment of Hagrid, for the most part looked pleased that Hitsugaya had stayed. He knew they had to be thinking about the rumors about him circling around the school. And while they had been made all the more fantastic for all the retellings, there was one constant in all of them; Hitsugaya could not be intimidated by a teacher. Of course none of them, save the possible exceptions of Harry, Ron and Hermione, knew the real reason why.

"Why, Mr. Hitsugaya, whatever are you doing here?" Umbridge hid her surprise with false pleasantries. "Shouldn't you be in class? I'd have thought _you_ would want to get out of the forest as quickly as possible."

"But Umbridge-sensei," Hitsugaya's voice was soft and almost dangerous, "I'm here on your orders."

The woman's mouth hung open for half a second before she covered it with a fake laugh. "Well I'm certainly honored you conquered your fear for the sake of my little errand, but all you had to do was drop off the note-"

"You've made it clear, Umbridge-sensei, that the rest of my classes are not as important as your _little errands_," Hitsugaya mimicked her tone, the high-pitched, girlish voice sounding ridiculous, "so I thought I should wait for a reply." Before Umbridge could speak again, Hitsugaya took another step forward. He was still quite a distance from the Ministry woman, but it was clear she thought it was a threatening move and took a step back. "I must thank you, Umbridge-sensei. Thestrals are quite fascinating, aren't they?"

He took another step forward, but this time Umbridge stood her ground, as though refusing to believe herself intimidated by a first year. "Well, isn't that nice for you, Mr. Hitsugaya? But you really _should_ be going along to your own class."

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. "But sensei, if you believed I should be in class, why did you send me here?"

"I just sent you to drop off a note, you daft child!" Umbridge was quickly loosing her composure, but tried to cover it with a laugh. "You can see the thestrals, can you, Mr. Hitsugaya?" she changed the subject abruptly. "Who did you see that died?"

Hitsugaya knew her tactic now. She was trying to through him off-balance by bringing up painfully memories. But she didn't know that the more apt question would be, when have you _not_ seen death? He was Shinigami, for crying out loud. "That's the question, isn't it?" Hitsugaya replied off-handedly. "Who did I watch die? Did I know them? Did I help them? Did I hasten their departure to the other side?" He shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. "Who can say?" And with that, he walked sedately out of the clearing, leaving Umbridge at a loss for words and hopefully giving Hagrid time to regain his composure. And to think, he hadn't let his reiatsu slip, not even for a moment.

* * *

**Review Responses:**

**Rmfd:** There will be fighting, I promise you. Hitsu won't have to pretend to be eleven for the entire fic. I dunno if it'll be against Aizen per se, but there will be fighting (don't tell Unohana). And lemme know how that zantaco turns out. ^_^ I was really hungry when I wrote that, lol, so I was like "mmm, tacos...." Hence, the food reference.

**jazflower:** Always a pleasure to meet another stargate fangirl. It's not just for the boys! As for Malfoy, he really hasn't leant himself to much to the storyline so far, even though Hitsu's in his House, but that's always something to keep in mind. And if I don't do it, another author always could... ^_~

**kuaispeed:** I like your thoughts on my chapters. And your random thoughts, too. They make me smile. And I didn't survive H1N1, just the vaccination. Which, since I hate needles, is major in and of itself. My bff and I sound like valley girls when we talk about Bleach. Seriously. Every other word is OMG or totally. And then we decided we should stop saying both, one of us would slip, and the other would say "OMG, you totally just said it" and it went on like that. At a friend's party. And people wonder why we don't drink...

**Xandre:** I can see what you're saying. But I just wanted Harry to witness the kidou and go OMG WTF.

**Halie Myers:** Well I adore crossovers. So I'm glad to have broadened your horizons. ^_^ And the perfect 10 makes me very happy.

**AbsolutelyInsaneRomantic:** Sorry I couldn't give you another update the next day. ^_^ And I hate needles, too, but I have a crap immune system. Not to mention I'm a total hypochondriac. So better the needle than wondering if I have swine flu next time I have the sniffles. And I squee when I get new reviews, so we're even.

**sarahlilly95:** Yup, Stargate Atlantis. I was thinking the nanites, like how they infected Dr. Weir. Me, I love both SG-1 and SGA, but I'm reserving judgement for SGU. But I'd love to see a good Bleach/any-Stargate crossover. *fangirly sigh*

**reader238:** That's definitely a thought. And the military metaphor is especially apt, since the Shinigami are essentially Soul Society's armed forces. It still makes me giggle, though.

**DxmaryoOD, Ilovebleach102012, sleepdeprivedpsychoanimegirl, Chillis, missyJuliette, MissOrange8587, XxFallingxxAngelxX, kuroyukihime2:** I can't believe how many reviewers I have! You guys are my inspiration. Once again, there would be no story without you guys, and I squeak with glee everytime I get a new review, so thanks for making my day/week/month...

Just in case I don't post again before Thursday, Happy Thanksgiving!~Dii


	13. Chapter 12: Hogwarts Visitors

**A/N** So, yeah. I had more time this week than I had anticipated. The profs didn't want to assign too much work because so many people had already left for Thanksgiving break. And plus, I always have time to write on Mondays. So back by popular request are the Kurosaki children, including big brother Ichigo. Plus, you get some important info in this chapter. *Gasp* Btw, Fred and George= way too much fun to write. Ichigo, not so much.  


* * *

Karin was brandishing a letter when she ran up to Hitsugaya the next morning. "Toshirou! Ichi-nii's coming to visit!"

Yuzu joined her. "You got the letter, too Karin-chan?" she asked. "You'll come see him, too, won't you Toshirou-kun? You're Ichi-nii's friend, right?" She smiled sweetly at him.

Hitsugaya was saved from the necessity of answering by receiving his _own_ message, in the form of a tinkling black Hell Butterfly. He listened to its message with a slight frown. "Yes, all right. I'll be there." Receiving his affirmative, the Hell Butterfly flew off with another tinkle. Yuzu watched its progress, enthralled, but Karin was watching Hitsugaya intently.

"It looks like I'll be coming with you to meet your brother," was all Hitsugaya said.

Yuzu turned when she heard him, clapping her hands in excitement. "Oh, I'm sure Ichi-nii will be very happy to see you!"

Hitsugaya didn't tell her that he had his own visitor to see. It was odd, though. He would have expected something much more dramatic from Urahara. It seemed Dumbledore had the ability to tame the geta-boushi. Hitsugaya wondered if even Yoruichi had that power.

Yuzu took his hand and tugged it gently. "Let's go now, Toshirou. I'm sure Ichi-nii's here already."

She wasn't wrong. Hitsugaya could feel the teenager's wildly leaking reiatsu even from the Great Hall. It was coming from the direction of Dumbledore's office. And with it, though much more restrained, was Urahara's. He nodded to Yuzu. "All right."

Yuzu beamed at him and linked her arm with his, as had become her custom. Briefly, Hitsugaya wondered why he allowed it. There was something irresistible about Yuzu, a trait she'd gotten from her big brother, it seemed.

Hitsugaya led the way to Dumbledore's office, the Kurosaki twins never having gotten into enough trouble to be sent there. "Know the way well, do you Toshirou?" Karin had jibed good naturedly.

Once inside, Yuzu flew to wrap her arms around her brother. "Ichi-nii!"

"Hey there, Yuzu," Ichigo said patting her on the head, his tone gentle in a way that Hitsugaya had never heard from the substitute Shinigami before. Karin stood off to the side, as though afraid to openly show affection. Ichigo nodded to her. "Karin. You both alright?"

"Mm-hmm!" Yuzu nodded, smiling up at her brother. "We're fine, Ichi-nii! We have Toshirou here to protect us!"

"So I heard." Ichigo looked over at Hitsugaya, and by the fluctuations in his reiatsu, Hitsugaya knew that Ichigo had heard about the hollow. That probably explained the reason for his visit. Ichigo nodded once to Hitsugaya, saying without words, that he was thankful the Shinigami captain had been there during the hollow attack. Hitsugaya nodded back.

"Karin, Yuzu, why don't you show your brother around the school?" Dumbledore said with a kind smile. Urahara was standing just behind him, looking thoroughly disgruntled. Probably because, as Hitsugaya had guessed, Dumbledore had forbade the shop-keeper from sending Hitsugaya a message in his customary flashy manner. He would have to remember to ask the headmaster what how he'd managed that miracle.

Karin frowned. "But Toshirou-"

Ichigo put a hand on Karin's head. "Urahara-san has to talk with Toshirou. We'll see him later, okay?"

Karin still didn't look satisfied, but she nodded. Hitsugaya had a feeling that he would be interrogated later. They left the three in Dumbledore's office.

"Albus-kun _never_ lets me have any fun!" they heard clearly as they closed the door behind them.

* * * * *

"What's this, Karin? Another boyfriend? Poor Harry will be heartbroken!" Fred shook his head sadly. He'd run into the Kurosakis when exiting the Great Hall.

"And what about Toshirou," George asked with mock-concern. "Does he know you're two, err, three-timing him? And after we gave him permission, too!"

"What's this talk about boyfriends?" Ichigo asked with a scowl. "And what exactly did you give Toshirou permission for?"

"To date Karin and Yuzu!" George said cheerfully. "Who are you, anyway? I haven't seen you around school…" he trailed off as the look on Ichigo's face turned dangerous.

"Ichi-nii, he's just kidding," Yuzu said, tugging Ichigo's arm slightly. She was well acquainted with Ichigo's temper and knew she had to do something to defuse the situation. "Karin-chan isn't dating anyone."

But Ichigo wasn't listening. "I am their brother," he said clearly to the Weasley twins. "And if I hear anything more about you giving people permission-"

"Why didn't you say so in the first place?" Fred interrupted.

George nodded. "We understand, mate. Got a little sister ourselves-"

"-And a little brother, but we don't like to talk about that."

"-and she's just started dating," George continued as though Fred hadn't spoken. "It's rough man. Sorry about joking like that!" He held up his hands innocently, grinning.

"Bit of Nosebleed Nougat to make it up to you? For free, of course." Fred held up the brightly colored candy, looking just as innocent.

"I wouldn't if I were you, Ichi-nii," Karin said darkly.

"Hey, we've worked out the kinks!" George protested, looking affronted.

"Yeah, we got the bleeding to stop just fine." Fred turned back to Ichigo. "What do you say?"

"Uh, no thanks."

Fred shrugged and put the candy back in his pocket. "Your loss, man. So what school _do _you go to?"

"Karakura High."

"Never heard of it," George replied brightly . "We're Fred and George Weasley, by the way. Seventh years from Karin's House."

Ichigo wasn't so sure he liked the idea of these strange boys that close to his sister. "Kurosaki Ichigo."

Suddenly a red haired twin had a grip on either of Ichigo's arms. "Well, Ichigo, my friend," Fred said as they pulled Ichigo forward, "be prepared for a five star tour of Hogwarts lead by none other than the inventors of the Skiving Snackboxes-"

"Canary Creams-"

"And Invisible Hats!"

"Trust me," George's voice had a mock-seriousness, "no one knows this school better than we do."

"O-oi!" Ichigo protested as the twins moved him against his will. He looked back at his sisters as though asking them for help. "Karin, Yuzu…"

"Oh, they should come, of course," Fred said sincerely. "We should really pass off our knowledge to another set of trouble-making twins."

"Trouble-making…!" This time Ichigo looked back at the Kurosaki twins with a stern look that rather lost its effect considering the Weasleys were still dragging him along.

"Nothing worse than you would have done, Ichi-nii," Karin defended herself.

"I never told you to be like me!"

"Do as I say not as I do, eh, Ichigo?" George shook his head. "Never works, mate."

"Besides, Karin and Yuzu turned out rather well, I think." Fred turned his head and winked at the girls. Yuzu giggled. "George and I tried our best to set a good example for Ron, but…"

"He's a _prefect_," George whispered to Ichigo as though it was a dirty secret.

"Ginny's been showing some promise, though."

"If only she wasn't dating that prat Michael Corner."

"Or wasn't dating at all."

"And took a vow of celibacy."

And chatting brightly, Fred, George, Yuzu, and Karin took a protesting Ichigo on a whirlwind tour of Hogwarts.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, in Dumbledore's office, Hitsugaya was looking at Urahara expectantly. "I assume that you have something to tell me, Urahara."

The geta-boushi shot one last disgruntled look at Dumbledore, and Hitsugaya got the distinct impression that Urahara was resisting an urge to stick his tongue out. Finally, he turned back to Hitsugaya. "Have you had any further pain?"

Hitsugaya shook his head. "Not since I went back to Seireitei."

"Not since you shed your gigai, you mean."

"So the gigai was defective?"

"Not at all."

Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes impatiently. Urahara did so love his mysterious act. "Well?"

"There were plant spores in the sample you sent me," Urahara said, his shadowed eyes serious. "Multiplying rather rapidly."

"Plant spores?"

"To put it simply, the hollow was trying to reproduce. Using your body as an incubator."

"Reproduce?" Hitsugaya frowned. "Hollow don't reproduce."

"I know." Urahara tapped his closed fan against his leg. "That's what makes this disturbing. Even more so since I haven't found a way to kill them."

Hitsugaya pursed his lips. "So why did you mention the gigai?"

"Because it was a reiatsu dampening one. Oh, it didn't completely hide your reiatsu, just weakened it so nobody would be aware that you were captain class." Urahara adjusted his green-striped hat, almost unconsciously. "Judicious application of reiatsu does halt the progression of the spores for a time, and can even reduce the number a bit."

"A bit," Hitsugaya repeated, his voice sounding hollow.

Urahara nodded, understanding the captain's unspoken question. "Not enough. Not by a long shot. Maybe, if you hadn't entered the gigai right after-" Urahara snapped his fan open, hiding his face, and the guilt on it.

"And the gigai I have now-?"

"It was a rush job, so no dampening. No healing kidou either. Still, you should spend as much time out of it as you can, and focus your reiatsu on the area of the wound each night."

_I will help as much as I can, Toshirou_, the icy voice echoed in Hitsugaya's mind.

_Hyorinmaru…_ Hitsugaya felt a surge of affection for his zanpakuto. His wand still remained silent, and Hitsugaya had to suppress the urge to throw the thing out the window. It certainly wasn't any help in this situation.

"I'm working in concert with Mayuri and Unohana on this," Urahara said, pulling Hitsugaya out of his inner world. "We'll find something, Hitsugaya-taicho."

"Well, if that's what it takes for you to show me proper respect, maybe I should incurably injure myself more often."

Urahara was momentarily startled by Hitsugaya's flippant response, but he recovered quickly. "Why Albus-kun, I didn't know you taught sense of humor here." He smiled behind his fan. "Hitsugaya-kun never had one before."

"A side effect of association with the Weasley twins, I fear," Dumbledore spoke for the first time since the Kurosakis had left his office. His tired blue eyes didn't sparkle in the way they would once have, and he leaned forward, looking concerned. "Kisuke, are the spores contagious?"

Hitsugaya hadn't considered that possibility and looked sharply at Urahara. If he was contagious, he'd leave the school immediately and have Unohana quarantine him. He wouldn't risk these children like that.

But Urahara shook his head. "Only if someone came into contact with Hitsugaya-kun's blood and it got into an open wound of their own. And Hitsugaya-kun's far too careful for that." Urahara snapped his fan shut. "I should go check on my student. Ichigo-kun does have a terrible knack for getting into trouble. Join us later, Shiro-chan?" And he left the office before giving Hitsugaya a chance to answer.

Hitsugaya watched him go, digesting the information he'd just been given, extrapolating possible scenarios, and weighing his chances. Dumbledore, on the other hand, was watching Hitsugaya, concern still on his face. "You didn't ask what would happen if the spores couldn't be stopped."

The Shinigami shook his head. "Either I will turn into a hollow, or I will die and a hollow will be born. But it doesn't matter because that will never happen."

"You have that much faith in Kisuke's ability?"

Hitsugaya smiled faintly. "That is not what I meant, Dumbledore-sensei." Just for a moment, despite the fact that he was in his gigai, Hitsugaya could feel Hyorinmaru's comfortable weight against his back. "I meant I will not allow that to happen."

"How-?"

Hitsugaya closed his eyes. He could see Hyorinmaru there, the acceptance and promise of help written on the ice dragon's face. Hyorinmaru knew what his Shinigami planned, and agreed with it, even if the zanpakuto didn't like it. "I will kill myself before that happens, sensei," Hitsugaya said, opening his eyes in order to meet the headmaster's steady gaze. "If they cannot come up with a cure in time, I will take care of it."

"Toshirou-"

"Do not worry, Dumbledore-sensei. I will not allow myself to endanger your students," Hitsugaya said as he left the headmaster's office.

Dumbledore let him go, even though he wanted to stop the young Shinigami captain and make him promise not to even think of doing such a thing. After all, Dumbledore worried about the safety of _all_ his students, even the ones that were battle-hardened military leaders.

* * *

**Review Responses:**

**kuiaspeed:** It sounds like you and your bff would get along really well with me and my bestie, lol. And I try to convince my brother to watch Bleach and _every single time_, he responds, "I do, but it just sits on top of the washing machine and doesn't do anything." My brother's ever so witty. Originally I was going to have the thestrals have a sort of kinship-bond-thing with Hitsu, but that didn't work out. But thestrals could totally be Shinigami mounts, for those who can't use shunpo.

**Xandre:** I think that's the first time I've ever been mentioned in the same statement as Def Leppard, lol. Although a friend did compare me to Slash once. I was like, "Do you mean the guitarist?" And she said, "Duh, what other Slash would I mean?" That was a weird conversation.

**RedSnowFalls:** I forgive you, lol. Just so long as I get a review for every update you missed! *stern look* Haha, just kidding. Or am I?...

**missyJuliette:** Here they are! And Ichigo, too, lol. I dunno, I just seem to have a tough time writing Karin and Yuzu. And the story has turned rather Hitsu-centric.

**sarahlilly95:** No, I haven't really read any good ones. I started reading one that had the potential to be really good, but I didn't understand wtf was going on. *sigh* If someone wrote a good one, I would love them forever. I did read a really good NCIS/SGA crossover once, though. lol

**benihime chan; Chillis; reader238; AbsolutelyInsaneRomantic; jazflower; Bokmal14; Serenity Moon2; Anonymous: **Glad everyone liked the Umbridge/Hitsu showdown despite it's slight OOCness.

Happy Thanksgiving (for real this time because I won't be posting _again_ before tomorrow; this I can promise you!) And extra Yumichika-style sparkles of happiness because I get to play with my 2-year-old cousin all day tomorrow. XD ~Dii


	14. Chapter 13: We will fight

**A/N** Yeah, so if the next few chapters get a little Freudian for you, sorry but finals time. I live, breathe, and eat psychology right now. It's bound to worm its way in. Actually, it was always gonna worm its way in because I want to heal Hitsugaya. Parts of him are broken, and I want to fix them. On that note, the first half of this chapter is psychologically relevant. And the second half heals a rather large, gaping plot hole, which Xandre pointed out to me and helped me fix. So this chapter is dedicated to him.

And just to clarify, Hitsu doesn't leave Dumbledore's office in order to kill himself. That's a last resort _only_.

* * *

Hitsugaya had never felt the need to get out of the gigai so keenly before. He could feel it tightening around his chest, making it hard to breathe. It was too small, too tight, like clothes he had grown out of, and getting out of it was the only way to give him relief.

As soon as he'd found a sufficiently isolated classroom, he popped a piece of Soul Candy, feeling the urge to sob with relief when he felt Hyorinmaru thump against his back. But like always, Hitsugaya kept his composure, ordering the mod soul to go about "business as usual." It was the weekend, and as such, there were no classes today, so the mod soul could simply remain in the Slytherin dungeon. Hitsugaya didn't really care what it did at the moment. He needed Hyorinmaru. He needed to spar, to train, to commune with the zanpakuto. The ice dragon had been one of the few constants in Hitsugaya's relatively short life, and he needed it right now.

Hyorinmaru was, of course, a reflection of Hitsugaya's soul and understood his Shinigami's need. _The Room of Requirement, Toshirou_.

The Room of Requirement. It was perfect for the very reasons Harry used it to hold the DA meetings. He could go there and not be disturbed, and according to legend, the space would become whatever he needed it to be. Since he needed a training ground, he could be confident that there was no risk in damaging the school by training there.

While Hitsugaya didn't normally waste his energy with unnecessary shunpo, he used it now, since it was the only way he could be certain the students wouldn't see him. It was more than likely that students other than Karin, Harry, Fred, and George had sufficient reiatsu to seem him in his Shinigami form, and he really did not feel like answering questions or sparking more rumors. Besides, the three passes in front of the door happened in a blink of an eye, and he didn't waste any time closing the door of the room behind him.

The room had turned into a vast training ground much like the one under Urahara's shop, and closing his eyes, Hitsugaya could feel the warding on it. It would keep his reiatsu from leaking out of the room and affecting the reiatsu-sensitive students in this school. The temperature was even a few degrees colder than most people would find comfortable, which Hitsugaya found pleasant. There was nothing to keep Hitsugaya from going all out. The Room of Requirement certainly lived up to its name.

When he opened his eyes again, Hitsugaya saw that he wasn't alone in the Room. Hyorinmaru had manifested in front of him. Anyone else might have been intimidated by the sudden appearance of a massive ice dragon, but to Hitsugaya it wasn't a 'sudden' appearance. Hyorinmaru was always present, always there in his mind. He had just turned corporeal.

"Toshirou," the dragon said, in his deep, rumbling voice, and Hitsugaya who knew the dragon as well as he knew himself, could read the concern in the dragon's voice. Concern and something else- guilt? The dragon inclined his head. "I should have known, Toshirou."

Hitsugaya stepped forward and placed his hand on Hyorinmaru's massive claw. The dragon dwarfed him, much like everything else in Hitsugaya's Shinigami career, but unlike everything else, the dragon's size didn't irritate him. Instead, it showed him the breadth of his own power, both what he currently had a handle on and what he would (though he despised the phrase) grow into. "I do not blame you."

"Then you cannot blame yourself."

The cold seeping into Hitsugaya's hand from Hyorinmaru's icy claw was a calming sensation. Hitsugaya knew he could not blame the zanpakuto without blaming himself. Hyorinmaru had flipped it, saying that Hitsugaya could not blame himself without blaming the zanpakuto. The Shinigami accepted that. After all, who was he to deny the logic of his own soul? "So what do we do now?"

"We resist using your contingency plan for as long as possible."

Hitsugaya offered a humorless smile. "I am not so keen on committing suicide, Hyorinmaru."

The ice dragon inclined his head in acknowledgement. "I am aware of that, Toshirou. But you were rather quick in considering it a solution. And that is what worries me the most."

"More than the chance of me becoming a hollow?"

"You've also learned to use humor to avoid the subject." Although the dragon's expression couldn't really change, Hitsugaya could see Hyorinmaru had turned stern. "You are giving up, Toshirou."

"I-" Hitsugaya stopped. _I'm not giving up_, he'd wanted to say, but Hyorinmaru would never even suggest such a thing if it weren't true. But that wasn't right. Hitsugaya Toshirou had defied everything to become captain of the 10th squad. He didn't _give up_. "Is that-?"

"An effect of the spores? Possibly." Hyorinmaru shook his head. "It would make sense. If the host gave up, it would give the spores a better chance to grow." Hyorinmaru gave him a piercing look. "It could also be you."

"_Me?_" Hitsugaya couldn't believe what his zanpakuto was implying.

But there was no judgment in Hyorinmaru's eyes. "You are very young for a Shinigami, Toshirou." Hitsugaya bristled at the implication. He was used to almost everyone he encountered calling him a child, but it hurt on a completely different level to hear it from Hyorinmaru, his partner, his zanpakuto, his soul. "It is the truth," Hyorinmaru's tone turned gentle- or at least as gentle as Hyorinmaru's tone was ever likely to get. "Even now, as a captain, you are still younger than most are when they enter the Academy. It does not mean that you are any less qualified to lead your squad, Toshirou, or that your power is in question. It is simply the number of years."

"And you think because I'm too young, I'm giving up?" Nobody else might notice the hurt in his voice, but Hitsugaya knew he couldn't hide it from Hyorinmaru.

"You are used to being called exceptional, Toshirou. You are used to your squad's confidence in your abilities. You are _not_ used to facing things you cannot fight, and instead of letting others fight for you, you are giving up."

Shamed, Hitsugaya hid his face against Hyorinmaru's claw. Part of his mind realized what a childish gesture this was, but the rest of him didn't care. Hyorinmaru was the one person he didn't have to put up a front for- _couldn't _put up a front for, as the previous conversation had revealed. He had nothing to prove

"Let the others help you, Toshirou. You don't have to defeat this alone."

Hitsugaya nodded against Hyorinmaru's claw, turning his head to rest his cheek against the icy surface.

He only had a moment's warning before Hyorimaru used his other claw to pierce Hitsugaya's shoulder in the exact same place the tentacle had. He grunted with pain, but he didn't move away. He trusted Hyorinmaru completely.

"It will give us time, Toshirou." Hyorinmaru's deep rumble was reassuring, as Hitsugaya pushed the pain to the back of his mind. It numbed quickly as the dragon poured his icy reiatsu into the wound. "It won't heal you completely, but it will give us time to fight."

Hitsugaya gripped the claw under his hand, easily finding purchase on the slippery surface. "We will fight."

* * * * *

Ichigo scowled. He had the feeling that this was a Very Bad Idea, but there was nothing he could to stop it. Urahara was already sitting with the Weasley twins and they had started gleefully talking about something called Weasley Wildfire Whiz-Bangs. He wished Toshirou was here- Ichigo had already proven rather ineffective at stopping Urahara from anything the geta-boushi had set his mind on, but Toshirou seemed to have some sort of control over the Weasley twins. Besides, the young captain had more experience getting people to do what he said.

"The charms on the gunpowder seems to make it overheat, and the rockets blow too quickly when they're lit," one of the red-haired twins- Fred, George, who could keep them straight?- was explaining to Urahara. Ichigo scowled even more. He didn't like the sound of these things already. Gunpowder and Urahara were never a good combination.

Urahara nodded his head sagely. "The magic excites the molecules in the gunpowder, causing friction. But surely we can do something to the casing to lower the temperature-"

Ichigo leapt to his feet as the walking stick he knew concealed Urahara's zanpakuto clattered to the ground. He was at his mentor's side in two long strides. "Urahara-san?" Ichigo asked cautiously. The twins were looking up at them in surprise. "Is there something wrong?"

The former captain looked up to meet Ichigo's gaze. There was… something in the man's shaded eyes. "I," he said clearly, "am an idiot."

Ichigo frowned. That wasn't right. Urahara was usually congratulating himself on his sharp intellect, to the point of being downright obnoxious. This new declaration worried Ichigo, especially since he could detect no sign of humor in the man's tone.

Urahara stooped down to pick up Benihime. "Temperature, Ichigo. How could I have missed it?"

Ichigo noticed immediately that Urahara had dropped the "kun." This was getting serious. "U-Urahara-san-?"

But Urahara was leaving quickly and even Ichigo's long legs had to hurry to catch up. "The bare trees, the snow on the ground," Urahara muttered to himself. "How could I have missed it? It's the only reason he's probably still _alive_-"

That was when Ichigo felt something cold and hard form in the pit of his stomach. "Toshirou? Did you- did you find something?" Urahara had told his student why he needed to come to Hogwarts, and Ichigo couldn't help but be worried. He was rather fond of the little snot.

Urahara's eyes flickered briefly towards Ichigo. "When I tested the application of reiatsu on the spores, I mimicked Hitsugaya's." And again, the lack of suffix proved to Ichigo that his teacher was deadly serious. "Because of Hyorinmaru, Hitsugaya's reiatsu is _icy_, as I'm sure you've noticed. And in order to survive his own bankai, Hitsugaya's body temperature is naturally a bit low, which I forgot." Urahara shook his head in exasperation. "I kept his blood sample at the normal temperature, and when the spores started multiplying at a rate that should have him _dead_ right now, I hypothesized that it was his reiatsu keeping them back."

"And when you mimicked Toshirou's reiatsu-"

"The findings seemed to confirm my hypothesis," Urahara completed grimly. "I didn't think- If I had just tested my _own _reiatsu-" Urahara's own reiatsu was hot, like blood.

"But this is a good thing, right?" Ichigo asked, trying to placate the older man. "Toshirou and Hyorinmaru can freeze them out, right?"

But Urahara was shaking his head again. "When the spores were first planted, when there were fewer of them, that might have worked. But now-" he shrugged, and Ichigo had never seen him look so helpless. "Sustaining that kind of temperature for the amount of time required to kill _all_ of them would be dangerous even for Hitsugaya." His geta clattered loudly against the stone floor of Hogwarts' hallways. "We should count ourselves lucky that Hitsugaya-kun isn't the ideal host for these things."

"But it's still a breakthrough, right?" There was a desperate note to Ichigo's voice. If Hitsugaya was being attacked by anything else, Ichigo would have run to his aid. But this, this _interior_ attack left him feeling useless. "You still learned something."

Urahara offered him a shadowed smile. "Right you are, Ichigo-kun!" he said brightly. "We'll have you in the research division yet!"

Ichigo couldn't help but shudder at the thought.

When they reached the gates of the school, Urahara paused and turned to Ichigo. "I'll have to take this to Unohana and Mayuri," he said. "There's no reason for you to cut your own visit short, Ichigo-kun." He clapped the teen briefly on the shoulder. "And it would worry your cute sisters if you left now."

Ichigo nodded in agreement, and turned back to the school as Urahara left. Speaking of his sisters, they were running towards him. "Ichi-nii!" they called, and he walked forward to meet them.

"You weren't leaving, were you Ichi-nii?" Yuzu asked worriedly.

"Not a chance." He squeezed her hand in his own. "I was just seeing Urahara-san off." Yuzu looked relieved.

Karin, on the other hand, was scowling at him in a very familiar manner. "Ichi-nii, what's wrong with Toshirou?"

Ichigo sighed. He didn't ask how Karin had figured out that there was something wrong in the first place. He'd resigned himself to the fact that both his sisters were far more perceptive than he'd ever been. "That's not for me to say, Karin."

"But-"

"If Toshirou wants to tell you, he'll tell you." Nudging his sisters gently towards the school, he said, "Come on, let's go back in for lunch. And you can tell me about this alleged trouble-making you've been up to." Yuzu giggled at the mock-stern tone in his voice, and even Karin cracked a smile. Ichigo knew he'd only stalled her questions for the moment. Toshirou was going to be up for the rest of them.

Ichigo frowned to himself. Toshirou wasn't going to want to answer Karin's questions, because she would only blame herself for what happened. But Karin wasn't going to stop asking. In the end, it would only be a matter of who broke first, and Ichigo honestly couldn't say who would win _that_ battle of wills.

* * *

**Review Responses:**

**Lulun221:** Yay! You caught up. If you didn't finish your homework, I'll write your prof a note, lol. Miss you, bestie!

**RmfD:** Oh, no it's okay! I forgive you! *pats back* And the terrible sadist that I am, I'm glad you're anxious about Hitsu's condition. If you weren't, that would mean I failed as a writer.

**Lady Queria:** Well, I have a vague idea of how I want it to end, but other than that... *shrugs* I actually didn't even plan for this whole spore storyline. I wrote Hitsu getting hurt in the hollow attack, and it snowballed. So nya yourself. ^_^I didn't even notice the twin thing, lol. That's pretty funny.

**plump-york:** Frank is the giant squid's _cousin_ *stern look* But I forgive you since your review made me happy. See, the fact that you initially were ignoring it and now think it rocks gives me the warm fuzzies. What made you decide to read?

**sarahlilly95:** I could totally give you a premise to write the Bleach/Sg-1 crossover from. I'm good at coming up with premises for odd crossovers. I gave the bestie one for a Glee/Bones crossover...which she hasn't written yet...someone's getting a beat down... Besides, the only way to get better as a writer is practice, right?

**Blooming Summer Snowflake:** I almost wept with tears of joy when I read your review. Really. It made my week to hear how much you liked every aspect of my story like that. But I hate to disappoint you by saying that I do intend on following major plotpoints in OotP. *cringe* Sorry! Oh, and Renji and Matsumoto went back to Soul Society after they drank their fill of firewhisky.

**Xandre: **And once again, thanks for pointing that out to me! And we say epic. Or mad. Or uber. But I could figure out what you meant from context. And geta-boushi means quite literally, "sandal-hat." It's what Ichigo calls Urahara when they first meet, and I've seen a lot of fanfic writers refer to him in that way.

**9tail-Naruto:** Yes, sorry, Ichigo's only here for a few days. In my mental timeline, we're nearing the winter holidays. I figure he'll stay until then and escort Yuzu and Karin home.

**benihime chan, Bokmal14, Countdown, Ribbonseal, Ilovebleach102012, Halie Myers, Chillis, missyJuliette, kuaispeed, Shahar Mystral, RedSnowFalls, Serenity Moon2, artistic sprite, Willow-Bee the Cat:** Nobody panic! As I said, suicide is Hitsu's last resort. We'll be resuming our regularly scheduled plot next chapter, assuming my brain doesn't bleed out of my ear in the mean time.

Enjoy your weekends for me because I won't be able to! _ I hate this time of semester/year. Too much to do! ~Dii


	15. Chapter 14: What Dreams May Come

**A/N** So this is the chapter where I start taking liberties with Bleach thingers. ^_^ So I've got a couple of notes for you before you read:

First, about the soul ribbons. In the series they only mention white for humans and red for Shinigami, right? But they never mention soul ribbons for hollow, so I'm assuming hollow have soul ribbons, and I've decided they're black. Makes sense, right?

Second, about hollow masks. I dunno if it's just me, but it seems to me that hollow always have stark white masks. Vizards, on the other hand, have markings on their masks (or at least Ichigo does; I was pretty sure that the others did, too) so, even if I'm wrong, for the purposes of this fic, it's a marked difference.

Thirdly, we're assuming that Hitsugaya knows about Vizard and Aizen's hand in their creation. Whether or not Hitsugaya knows about them is never really mentioned in the series, so for the purposes of this fic, we're assuming he's a little smartie and figured it out. Not too much of a stretch right?

I have three essays due in the next two days, and this is what I'm doing. Sometimes my lack of common sense astounds even me.

* * *

Reluctant to go back into his gigai, despite his newly opened wound courtesy of Hyorinmaru, after a rather thorough and satisfying sparring session, Hitsugaya had patched himself up (he'd found bandages and, surprisingly, ointments that wouldn't have been out of place in the fourth squad the moment he'd needed them) and headed back into the forest. Something about the thestrals were nagging at him in the back of his mind. Hitsugaya might not have been a researcher in the twelfth squad, but he wasn't called a prodigy for nothing. His mind could be surprisingly analytical at times, though he tended to go more by instinct than careful hypothesis. And right now, his instincts were telling him that the thestrals were somehow related to the hollow that had attacked him.

Hollow didn't reproduce. A soul either became a hollow or was helped across by a Shinigami. That was it. But the hollow that Hitsugaya had fought was clearly trying to reproduce. And the thestrals clearly had hollow masks, despite the fact that the gamekeeper was raising them like cattle. Hitsugaya's instinct was telling him that this was no coincidence, and with the hollow dead, the thestrals were his only lead.

Hitsugaya didn't have a dead cow with which to lure the fleshless horses, but that was of little importance. He could remember clearly the thrum of the thestrals' oddly powerful reiatsu. Closing his eyes, Hitsugaya felt for the thestrals' soul ribbons.

They weren't the white of a human's soul ribbon, or the red of a Shinigami's. They weren't even the black of a hollow's. Instead, they were a neutral blue-gray. Hitsugaya had never seen soul ribbons this color. He wondered, briefly, if that hollow's had been the same color. He wished he had thought to check.

Still, the odd coloring confirmed something deep within Hitsugaya's mind. The thestrals weren't hollow- not completely anyway- but they weren't of the real world, at least not originally.

Refusing to conjecture further until he'd seen the thestrals, Hitsugaya followed the ribbons deep into the forest. The herd of the creatures looked up at his approach, but once again they made no move towards him. It seemed that they shared a mutual curiosity with each other. They could probably sense reiatsu as well, and had likely never come across someone with such powerful reiatsu as Hitsugaya. They were as curious about him as he was about them.

"Where did you come from?" Hitsugaya asked softly stroking the neck of one of the creatures with his uninjured arm. It craned its head forward, sniffing at Hitsugaya's wounded shoulder. Whether it was the blood or the weakened kidou in the ointment Hitsugaya had found in the Room of Requirement that attracted it, Hitsugaya couldn't tell.

The creature quickly gained whatever information it needed from the wound and moved to sniff the Shinigami's hair. It then poked its nose against Hyorinmaru's hilt and bared its teeth. It either didn't like the zanpakuto or had just not expected it to hurt, but it was impossible to say which. But the thestral made no further aggressive moves and completed its examination of Hitsugaya.

Standing still, the thestral gave Hitsugaya a pointed look, which the Shinigami read easily. _I'm done, now it's your turn_, it seemed to say. 'They're dead clever,' Hagrid had said. Hitsugaya couldn't help but agree.

With the thestral's compliance, Hitsugaya was able to examine it in much greater detail. He still found no evidence of the hole that gave hollow their name, so he turned his attention to the thestral's mask. It was still clearly hollow, even at this close range, but there was something much different about it. There were faint markings across it in light blues and grays, giving it a shadowed appearance. In this, it more resembled a Vizard's mask than a hollow's stark white. The connection with Aizen grew stronger.

Satisfied with the physical examination, Hitsugaya closed his eyes to fully examine the winged horse's reiatsu. It wasn't dark and oppressive like a hollow's, but it was also clearly different from a Shinigami's or a human's. In this, Hitsugaya could draw no comparisons. But there was something oddly familiar in it, something deep, hidden-

There. Deep within the neutral reiatsu of the thestral, Hitsugaya could feel something pulsing, something he recognized. Something very much like Kurosaki Ichigo's reiatsu. The clash between two very different reiatsu, becoming something else completely.

Hitsugaya drew away from the thestral, frowning. The connection with the Vizard was undeniable, and thus the connection with Aizen had to be. But… that didn't seem _right_. Even if these horses were leftover researcher, Hitsugaya couldn't possibly see what Aizen could have gained from creating them. And Aizen never made a move that wasn't carefully calculated. Aizen couldn't have created them more than a hundred years ago, and the thestral legends Hitsugaya had found in the library had gone back much, much further. The wizarding world had a long memory, too; they'd have noticed if scary-looking winged horses starting appearing barely a hundred years ago.

Were they the _basis_ for Aizen's research? He was trying to gain strength by combining Shinigami with hollow, but that idea must have come from somewhere. Had it come from here? Hitsugaya stared at the thestral, who stared placidly back without giving him any answers. Only more questions.

* * * * *

"So this is where it happened, huh?"

"Are you following me, Kurosaki?" It had been impossible to not realize the teen had been waiting for Hitsugaya at the edge of the forest. Someone really needed to teach the substitute Shinigami how to control his reiatsu. Hitsugaya could have easily avoided him, but then he would deal with scowling and shouting later on, and Hitsugaya really didn't have the energy to deal with one of Ichigo's little tantrums.

Ichigo shrugged. "Didn't follow you in, did I?" Hitsugaya had to concede that to him. "This is where it happened, the hollow attack?"

"Yes." Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes. "What do you want, Kurosaki?"

He noticed Ichigo was rubbing his ankle with the toes of his other foot. "I didn't think you'd get hurt, Toshirou," he blurted out suddenly. "I figured there wouldn't be anything here that you couldn't handle-"

"What, you thought I _couldn't handle_ that hollow, Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed further in irritation. "Allowing myself to be injured was a stupid mistake, but it didn't happen because I _couldn't handle it_."

"I didn't mean it that way."

Hitsugaya closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the cool wintry air, letting himself calm. Of course Ichigo hadn't meant it in an insulting manner. The teen just had a habit of putting his foot in his mouth, something that Hitsugaya should know by now. But Hyorinmaru's earlier implications were still raw in his mind, and Ichigo's less-than-delicate way with words was hardly helpful.

"Oi, Toshirou, you're hurt-"

Hitsugaya opened his eyes. He'd all but forgotten about the wound due to his confusion about the thestrals. And of course it couldn't escape the notice of Ichigo's damned Kurosaki Heroism, as dense as the teen might be about everything else. "Hyorinmaru," he explained simply.

Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise. "Y-your zanpakuto-?!"

"He was helping." Hitsugaya felt a moment of amusement at the confusion on Ichigo's face. No doubt he was trying to figure out just _how_ a wounded shoulder could be 'helping.' Hitsugaya decided to not fill in the details. "If we're done here-"

"Karin's worried," Ichigo said quickly. They'd finally gotten to the crux of the matter, it seemed. "She wants to know what's going on."

"I know."

"Are you going to tell her?"

Hitsugaya wished he could just flop down into the snow without looking like the child everyone thought he was. He wanted to feel the cold seeping through his body like he'd felt leaning against Hyorinmaru. He wanted that comfort. "Not yet, not now."

"She's not going to stop asking."

"I know."

They walked back towards the castle in silence. There were a few students out, despite the cold, and none of them seemed to see Hitsugaya, thankfully. He didn't want to answer any questions about his 'sword.' Fred and George Weasley already had a penchant for making 'sword' jokes.

"You shouldn't let Karin see that shoulder," Ichigo said finally. "She'll ask even more questions."

"I'm not an idiot, Kurosaki."

Ichigo scowled and opened his mouth to say something, when they were interrupted by a cool drawl. "Really, Hitsugaya," Malfoy sneered, "you need a sword and an escort just to walk across the grounds? That bunny in the forest really _did_ scare you, didn't it?"

Ichigo looked at Hitsugaya in surprise, but the captain didn't seem all that concerned with the fact that the boy was able to see him. The two massive ones behind him, though, were staring at each other in confusion.

"And yet you never go anywhere without those two imbeciles. Imagine that," Hitsugaya responded lightly. Now Ichigo was really staring. He'd expected anger, threats; he definitely hadn't expected such a cool response. "Kurosaki, close your mouth and put your eyes back in your head. You look like a damned toad."

"Kurosaki, huh?" Malfoy turned to Ichigo (Crabbe and Goyle were looking more and more lost with each passing second). "Any relation to Hitsugaya's pet Gryffindor?"

At the word 'pet,' Ichigo regained his composure. "What the hell do you mean by that?" he growled at Malfoy.

"Oh, they're _never_ seen without each other," Malfoy said delightedly. "All the time, hanging all over each other, sneaking out past curfew with each other, but it's no surprise, really. Gryffindor girls always did have a reputation for being _loose _-"

Hitsugaya grabbed at Ichigo's wrist before the substitute Shinigami could launch himself at Malfoy. "Don't be an idiot," he said forcefully, although he wasn't quite sure who he was talking to. Malfoy was risking almost certain death by saying those things to Ichigo, and Ichigo was being an idiot for _listening_ to them.

"Yes, please," Malfoy smirked, "don't be an idiot. I'm just the messenger, after all. Although, the fact that you're being held back by a first year makes me really _scared_." He looked back at Crabbe and Goyle, expecting them to laugh, but he frowned at expression on their faces. "What the hell is wrong with you two?"

"We don' see no firstie, Malfoy."

"Don' see Hitsugaya neither."

"He's right _there_," Malfoy pointed at Hitsugaya in exasperation. Crabbe and Goyle looked at the spot blankly then looked back at each other.

"Don' see 'im. You?"

"Nope."

Malfoy gaped at his two cronies, as Ichigo struggled to get his arm out of Hitsugaya's grip. "Lemme _go_, Toshirou. I'm gonna pound the snot out of that little bastard-"

"No, you aren't. And it's Hitsugaya-taicho to you, Kurosaki." But Ichigo didn't seem to be listening. Hitsugaya decided to use his trump card. "Besides, it'll make Yuzu upset if you're kicked out for fighting."

That did the trick. Subdued, Ichigo glowered at Hitsugaya. "You manipulative bastard-"

"I told you, it's Hitsugaya-taicho."

"You idiots! They're _talking_ to each other!" Malfoy cried in frustration, gesturing towards Ichigo and Hitsugaya.

"You sure you're feeling okay, Malfoy?"

"Mebbe you should go to the hospital wing-"

"I'm _fine_." In truth, Malfoy looked ready to tear his hair out. "It's you two _idiots _who can't see what's right in front of you-" Malfoy whirled on Hitsugaya. "What spell did you use?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, Malfoy."

"What _fucking_ spell did you use? Invisibility? How the hell did you make it selective?"

"I'd watch my language if I were you, Malfoy," Hitsugaya said serenely. "You wouldn't want to get in trouble with the professors, now would you?"

"You really think I'm going to fall for the fucking oldest trick in the book?" Malfoy laughed. "Do you think I'm a sodding idiot-?"

"_Really_, Malfoy! Such language is unbecoming of a prefect!" Professor McGonagall strode angrily towards them. "Twenty points from Slytherin!"

Malfoy gaped momentarily at her. "But professor, Hitsugaya was-"

"Malfoy, you can't blame an absent school mate for your own poor choices."

"He's right _there!_" Malfoy exploded. "_He_," the blond jabbed a finger at Ichigo, "was talking to him!"

McGonagall raised an eyebrow and turned to Ichigo. "Well, Mr. Kurosaki? Care to explain?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I haven't seen Toshirou all day, sensei. I came out here to look for him. Maybe that one hit his head too hard."

Malfoy's jaw dropped and McGonagall nodded. "Come on Malfoy. To the hospital wing with you."

Once they were gone, Ichigo and Hitsugaya both looked up as a bright red head stuck out of one of the tower windows. "Bloody brilliant!" Fred Weasley cheered. "Saw the whole thing!"

* * * * *

That night, Harry's dream featured a blind man. His hair was done up in dark braids, and he was wearing a kind of white uniform. There was a sword strapped to his waist.

"The most noble path is that of the least bloodshed," the man said.

Harry nodded.

"The truest goals are that of peace and justice."

_Yes,_ Harry thought, almost desperately. He'd give anything just to have peace.

The man stepped towards Harry, his footsteps no less sure because of his lack of sight. "This is what the purest of souls yearn for." A step closer. "This is what _I_ yearn for." He stopped just in front of Harry. "Is it what you yearn for?"

"Yes," Harry whispered, looking up to meet the blind eyes behind the clear visor the man wore. His eyes had no pupils, Harry noticed suddenly. They were completely white.

Harry could _feel_ something about the man as he stood this close. Something oddly familiar. Something like… something like he could feel from Toshirou. The aura of carefully controlled strength and power he had come to associate with the Shinigami, Harry could feel from this blind man, too. But there was something different about the blind man, something darker, something…

The man frowned as if following Harry's train of thought. "There is one who could bring peace and justice in this world," he said, snapping Harry out of his thoughts. "Would you follow him?"

Harry opened his mouth to answer or to ask a question or to say something, but then the dream faded into a long, dark hallway lit by torches, leading to a door…

* * *

**Review Responses:**

**randomismyname:** Really? I promise I'm not stealing from you- I haven't even read your fic. But now I'm intrigued. I'm sorry for any unintentional similarities! But it's a funny coincidence.

**missyJuliette:** I'm not quite sure what you mean by late- it's a busy time for me and my updates probably aren't going to be once a week (this is an exception) until school ends. Is that what you meant?

**AngelIre:** Once again, I'm so beyond honored by what you said. I quite literally squeaked when I read that. And you know, a lot of people have told me they didn't like crossovers before reading my story, which makes me inordinately pleased because I adore crossovers. I'm creating converts!

**Chillis: **Haha, aww. It's not always terrible, I promise. It's just this time of the semester that gets crazy.

**Xandre: **It's really funny that you said that, because I always had this image of Urahara's shop being the #1 supplier of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes in Japan.

**DrgnMstr:** I'd considered that but...no. It won't get that far, and I can't see Hitsu being too pleased with that development.

**kuaispeed, RmfD:** I've been waiting this entire fic for the chance to have some Hitsu/Hyorinmaru time. Glad I'm not the only one who liked it!

Thanks and cyber kisses to **artistic sprite, dark0angelz, Lady Queria, Mystic Bunny Eats You, Shahar Mystral, strangenewage, benihime chan, sarahlilly95, Ilovebleach102012.**

Hmm, who could the blind man in Harry's dream be? And if you can't guess, I officially fail as a Bleach fanfic writer. The plot thickens, and schoolwork deadlines draw near... ~Dii


	16. Chapter 15: Always More Questions

**A/N** Eheheheh. I told you I made no promises with the once a week updates. I've been extremely busy and I apologize. First came finals week, as you all know, and then came order-filling (I make jewelery on commission, and had a rather lot of Christmas orders), then came finishing Christmas presents (watches, they looked awesome!), and then I caught a really bad cold, which was kind of flu light. I had all the symptoms of the flu minus nausea, and I didn't techincally have a fever, and the entire time I was sick (almost a week, completely missed new year's) I was like, "*groan* I hafta write my fanfic, *cough* my poor readers *sneeze* they probably hate me...*snore*". So I got on the computer yesterday for the first time in almost three weeks, saw what I had written for this chapter, didn't like it, and rewrote it. It's a little short, but I figured I'd better post something before you all lynch me.

Oh, and just a little side note, Xandre pointed out to me that there is no real difference between vizard and hollow masks, but for the purposes of this fic, we're pretending there is. It suits my needs. So yeah, I warned you I'd be taking liberties.

Another note, a lot of you want to know if I plan to make Hitsugaya a vizard. It's an intriguing idea, but I don't plan on going in that direction. It's all or nothing with the spores, and vizard is half-way.

* * *

Harry didn't consciously make the decision to tell Toshirou about his dream. Actually, he'd decided _not_ to tell the first year about it. As little as Harry understood about the Shinigami and the war he was fighting, he could respect the fact that Toshirou had plenty on his plate. Hell, Harry had more than enough to deal with and he was only a student, not a military captain. But the next time Harry saw the Shinigami, he ended up explaining his dream to the white-haired boy anyway.

It had been an odd sequence of events that lead up to their meeting. As Harry was a fifth year in Gryffindor and Toshirou was a first year in Slytherin, they didn't really see each other often, and when they did, it was almost always during a DA meeting or in the Great Hall. But this time Harry found Toshirou in the library, generally a rather empty, quiet place. And it had been rather more empty than usual, being as the weather had been unusually mild that day, and most students were outside enjoying their unexpected good fortune.

Toshirou had already been there when Harry entered the library, and welcomed his upperclassmen to sit with him with a silent glance. Harry took the invitation, noting that the books around Toshirou were far more advanced than a first year would require. Oddly, that didn't surprise Harry; although Harry had a sneaking suspicion that Toshirou was older than he appeared to be, he was also noticeably younger than his vice-captain. You couldn't become a captain that young if you weren't smart and dedicated.

Harry didn't know exactly when he'd started talking. He hadn't consciously made the decision to start talking, but before he knew it, he was describing the blind man from his dream. Toshirou's eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't interrupt. He was a quiet, attentive listener.

Harry told Toshirou the things that the blind man had said. "Kind of sounds like a recruitment speech, doesn't it?" Harry mused out loud after he finished.

"Yes," Toshirou replied, although Harry had meant it rhetorically. There was something tight about the Shinigami's voice.

"I mean, it might have just been a dream," Harry said hurriedly, mentally kicking himself for opening his mouth. "It's just that he felt-"

"He felt?" Toshirou prompted, raising a single eyebrow.

"-like you," Harry finished, almost apologetically, though he wasn't sure why.

Toshirou rubbed his forehead with a single hand, and that gesture spoke volumes to Harry. "You know who it is, don't you? I mean, he's real, it wasn't just a dream-"

"I knew who he was," Toshirou said softly. When he looked back at Harry his teal eyes were hard. "His name is Tousen Kaname. He _was_ another captain of the Gotei 13. The 13 protection squads," he added at Harry's confused look.

Harry felt his mouth go dry. "Was?"

"He was one of the three captains that betrayed us." Toshirou snorted with derision. "Tousen always preached peace and justice. But his sense of justice seems to have been somewhat skewed."

"What do you mean?"

"The three of them murdered the members of our governing body, Chamber 46, so they could give the order to execute a Shinigami whose only crime was saving the Kurosaki family."

"You mean Karin's family?" Harry asked, shocked.

"Yes." Toshirou tapped a finger against the table. "She was injured and leant her powers to Ichigo- a crime, yes, but not worthy of execution, and it saved their lives."

"Why did they want to kill her?"

"She had something they needed." Toshirou's eyes were shadowed. Harry could guess that the three renegade captains had done more than just what he'd said, but he didn't press.

"What do they want with me?"

Toshirou shook his head. "I can only guess. Was that all to the dream?"

"Yes. Well, no. After that it changed into something else, a dream I've been having every night recently." He described the hallway and the door to Toshirou.

"I don't know that. But the dream changed before you could answer, so we can assume it was unrelated."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, it was almost like the second dream interrupted the first. But Toshirou-"

"I'd rather not conjecture just yet, Potter. I could be very wrong." Toshirou stood up, closing his books. "Please, let me know if you have another dream of him."

"And if he asks me to join them?"

"Just remember, the one who Tousen says will bring peace and justice stabbed my best friend, his vice-captain, and left her to die. Is that someone you think you can trust?"

And without waiting for an answer, Toshirou turned and left the library.

* * * * *

With Hyorinmaru's chastisement fresh in his mind, Hitsugaya told Ichigo about Harry's vision of the renegade captain. If this was a new tactic of Aizen's, Hitsugaya was in no shape to fight. Ichigo however, always seemed ready to fight.

The scowling teen had asked the same questions that were on Hitsugaya's mind. How? Why? Harry had shown evidence of strong reiatsu, of course, but he was an untrained boy. What could Aizen possibly want with him?

Hitsugaya didn't share his theories with Ichigo either. He could make an educated guess, of course, many educated guesses, but he just didn't have the evidence to back them up yet.

The most obvious connection between Aizen and Harry was Hitsugaya himself, and the timing was too coincidental not to acknowledge that. Hitsugaya generally did not believe in coincidences. But it seemed odd that Aizen would try to get to Hitsugaya through Harry. It wasn't as though they were particularly close, and Hitsugaya wasn't called icy just because of his zanpakuto. So while there was a connection, Hitsugaya could assume that this wasn't an attack on him. And he wasn't completely sure that that was a relief.

What else could Aizen possibly want from Harry? The wizarding magic? After all, that was the very reason Hitsugaya himself was at Hogwarts, and if Aizen was trying to gain access to it, then it was all the more imperative that Hitsugaya finish his studies here as quickly, and as completely, as possible. But why go after Harry? The boy was still in school himself, and there were plenty of full-grown wizards that would be more susceptible to Aizen's ideals. It was possible that Aizen was looking for a foothold in the wizarding world, and thought the famous Harry Potter was his way in. After all, Tousen's words of justice and peace would appeal to a boy who had had to grow up fighting a great evil just because he hadn't had the sense to die as an infant.

Hitsugaya frowned. That was a likely scenario, but Harry had little credibility with most of the wizarding world these days. Hitsugaya didn't think it was possible that Aizen was ignorant of that fact. Aizen did nothing if he hadn't calculated all possible contingencies. He wouldn't have missed such a fact. Of course, Voldemort couldn't stay in the shadows forever. Harry would eventually regain his status, and that even gave Aizen time to wear down Harry's resolve and mold him the way the self-styled lord of Hueco Mundo wanted. Aizen was well known for his patience, after all.

Still, it was more of a gamble than Aizen usually took, since Hitsugaya was there to counter every argument that was made to Harry. Hitsugaya had known him longer and had even saved Harry's life. The boy was more likely to trust Hitsugaya's word, and Hitsugaya knew that Aizen must know that.

There was also the possibility that Harry was just a distraction. Aizen might be trying to do something or recruit someone else in the wizarding world, and he wanted Hitsugaya to be focused on Harry so he couldn't interfere. And if he managed to recruit Harry under Hitsugaya's, and by association Soul Society's nose, well, so much the better. A possibility, but Aizen knew Hitsugaya well enough to know that the young captain would suspect that. So a possibility, but also not very likely.

So what the hell did Aizen want? Hitsugaya looked out a window watching the snow melt off of the trees in the Forbidden Forest. The thestrals? Did Aizen not want an in into the wizarding world, but into Hogwarts? Maybe Harry wasn't the target, just the most susceptible student Aizen had found. But why now? Aizen could have come here at anytime here to study the thestrals during his captaincy without even having to lie. He could have gotten permission just by saying there were creatures here that might be related to the hollows and warranted study. So why would he wait until now, when there was a Shinigami captain resident?

It was possible, he supposed, that Aizen hadn't been aware of the thestrals until now. Hogwarts itself might not have warranted his attention until Hitsugaya became a student. Still, it was more of a risk than Hitsugaya thought Aizen would normally take. Unless, of course, the thestrals carried something of vital importance to him, some piece of information that he desperately needed. But that, too, seemed off to Hitsugaya. Aizen wouldn't have made his move if he was missing a vital piece of information.

Hitsugaya rubbed his forehead again, feeling a headache start behind his eyes. _Damn_ Aizen. What the hell did he want from Harry? Wasn't it enough that he'd betrayed everyone that had believed in him? Wasn't it enough that Kira had to live with the whispers and the implications that he'd been complicit the entire time? Wasn't it enough that Hisagi was about to break under the pressure of assuming his captain's duties?

Wasn't it enough that Hinamori still lay in the fourth division, unconscious and healing far too slowly?

Hitsugaya knew he had to report this to Soul Society and he knew the old man wouldn't be pleased. Unohana wouldn't be entirely pleased either, since Hitsugaya was still injured and sitting directly in the line of fire. Hitsugaya would refuse to budge, however. He was too far along in his studies to give up now. And if Aizen was planning something in the wizarding world, Hitsugaya wanted to be the one to stop him. He deserved that much.

But first, Hitsugaya headed to Dumbledore's office. As much as Hitsugaya hadn't wanted to worry the old wizard with the details of Soul Society's war, one of Dumbledore's students had been dragged into it. Hitsugaya had initially been worried that the war in the wizarding world would affect Soul Society, but he'd never even considered that the opposite might happen. It was a scenario he should have foreseen, and now it was happening.

Taking a deep breath, Hitsugaya raised a fist to knock on Dumbledore's office door.

* * *

**Review Responses:**

**LeonaWriter:** Voldemort is still sending Harry dreams, but Aizen is piggybacking visions onto them for his own nefarious reasons.

**Flower Kid is a Leprechaun:** I'm pretty sure they call it both soccer and football, but even if that's not the case, I didn't want to make any confusion. So it's just gonna be soccer. (P.S. I totally agree with you about our football, but what's done is done, ne?)

**Ryuuk96:** That's a very good guess, and a very good idea. But you'll just have to wait and see how the thestrals came to be (hahaha, I rhymed)

**AngelIre:** I'm fairly certain that they use the f-word. It was also just an excuse for me to use it, since I am a notorious potty-mouth and I've been very good this entire fic. What the hey, it's rated T, right? I'm allowed. Plus, everybody wanted Malfoy to get some form of comeuppance.

**Lulun221:** Why am I not surprised your favorite part is with Urahara? Lol. Hula-hooping with you completely killed my abs, btw. I was in pain yesterday. Pain!

**Ilovebleach102012:** Strength in magic doesn't necessarily mean strength of reiatsu. There's overlap, yes, but magic and reaitsu aren't precisely the same thing. Ichigo never got a Hogwarts letter, and Hermione can't see Hitsugaya even though I'd rate her at least equal (if not better) to Malfoy in magic power. But a good catch.

And thanks to **RmfD, Xandre, Deviously Ruined Rose, sarahlilly95, Chillis, DXmaryoOD, artistic sprite, benihime. chan, kuaispeed, FullmetalKeyblade-13, plump_york, Shahar Mystral, missyJuliette, ihonestlydontknow, Serenity Moon2, BadRyuKun, Radio Static, **and** soupcan**.

Thanks for staying with me through my unplanned sabbatical. Hope everyone had a good holiday and happy new year. ~Dii


End file.
